Note to Self: The Last Time

My husband showed this post to me when we just had our 3rd baby, and I was going through a rough and tough time. Wanted to share it as well to you. (I googled the poem again):

The Last Time

From the moment you hold your baby in your arms,

you will never be the same.

You might long for the person you were before,

when you had freedom and time,

And nothing in particular to worry about.

You will know tiredness like you never knew it before,

And days will run into days that are exactly the same,

Full of feedings and burping,

Nappy changes and crying,

Whining and fighting,

Naps or a lack of naps,

It might seem like a never-ending cycle.

But don't forget...

There is a last time for everything.

There will come a time when you will feed your baby

for the very last time.

They will fall asleep on you after a long day

And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child.

One day you will carry them on your hip,

then set them down,

And never pick them up that way again.

You will scrub their hair in the bath one night

And from that day on they will want to bathe alone.

They will hold your hand to cross the road,

Then never reach for it again.

They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles,

And it will be the last night you ever wake to this.

One afternoon you will sing "the wheels on the bus"

and do all the actions,

Then never sing them that song again.

They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate,

The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone.

You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face.

They will one day run to you with arms raised,

for the very last time.

The thing is, you won't even know it's the last time

Until there are no more times, and even then,

it will take you a while to realise.

So while you are living in these times,

Remember there are only so many of them

And when they are gone,

You will yearn for just one more day of them

For one last time.

- Author unknown

I've had some of these last times with my eldest and I do miss those times with him. I still have two young-uns to give me those again for one last time.

If You Need a Pick-Me-Up Video...

I saw this video a while back, and saw it again tonight. Never fails to make me appreciate the little things in life.

For Every Mother

I just finished a book by Janene Baadsgaard called, "For Every Mother." My dad gave it to me as a random gift. I liked the book in that the stories were short. There were so many wisdom learned as I read from a fellow mother who's been where I am now, have raised ten kids, and are now enjoying her grandchildren through them.

I will post quotes from her books every day (or whenever I can) on my blog as part of my thoughts, but here are some things that stuck with me from her book that I may or may have not already known in my early motherhood stage:

* Our family is the most important thing in the whole wide world.

* Being a mother is the most important role in life one could ever have. Every woman in this world is a mother in many other ways other than having children.

* Every good thing we do for our family now as mothers may not be noticed immediately and sometimes it seems like they are in vain, but don't give up. Someday we will see the fruit of our labors.

* Memories made in the home are more important than acquiring current and trendy things, or keeping the house "up-to-date" with modern designs.

* Time really flies. You barely had a newborn in your hands, and then he'll be leaving home before you could even blink.

* We never have to do it alone. We are never alone in this journey. Our Savior will always be there for us if we just turn to Him & let Him help.

If you don't have time to read a long novel, this is a good book to read. Even just one story a day is good enough. It kept me in the good mood, and motivated me to be a better, non-materialistic, non-whining mom, and made me appreciate this gift of motherhood so much more than I ever did before.

FAILED!!!

All of us fail. It's part of our human nature. And for one thing, we need it in order to gain experience. Here's a short clip that I really really love when I feel discouraged each time I failed:

And a few little quotes to bear in mind:

"The person who failed often knows how to avoid future failures.

The person who knows only success can be more oblivious to the pitfalls."

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."


"It's not how hard you hit. It's how hard you get hit ... and keep moving forward."

 - Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

And a poem that I also posted with this exact same video and blog post a long time ago:

DON'T QUIT

(Unknown)

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit --

Rest if you must, but don't quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns,

And many a fellow turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow --

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a fair and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when night came down

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out --

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar,

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, --

It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

Note to Self - A Father's Faith

It's been quite a few months (after our second baby was born) since hubby and I were able to watch a movie at home after the kids went to bed. Some of our (or MY) reasons were I was too tired, our second baby was still too young (and still woke up a lot of times during the night and we needed to get as much sleep as we could), and hubby was studying for his CPA exam. Well, now that both kids are sleeping through the night, hubby's taking a few days' break from studying, and even though I am still always tired at the end of the day, we can now watch a movie or at least an episode of a TV show after the kids had gone to bed. Last night, hubby and I watched this:

(Life in A Day)

Here's a synopsis from Netflix about this movie:

"After thousands of people around the world joined together to record banal and remarkable everyday events on July 24, 2010, director Kevin MacDonald led a team of editors to condense more than 4,500 hours of video into this picture of life on Earth."

We both got curious about it so we watched it. I liked it. It was pretty much like the "Babies" that came out last year. There was one scene, though, that got stuck in my head. It's about a widower and father who lives in a cemetery with his kids. I don't know where they're from and we only read the subtitles from what he said.

His 20 year-old son (the eldest of the children) is mentally retarded and the father couldn't go out to work because nobody else is going to watch after his children (living in a cemetery and all). Fourteen people live in their little place where they have no electricity, no water, no drainage. You can see the mud all over the place and even all over the childrens' body and clothing. Flies are everywhere. My heart broke when I saw a baby peacefully sleeping despite their condition. Then at the end of that short clip, the father said this:

"... But we are still alive. God will not forget us. He created us. That is what I believe. God wouldn't have created all these population just to forget us."

What a tremendous faith! Despite their condition, he still had great faith in God. It was a perfect reminder for me that no matter how many people are in this world, He knows each of them and is mindful of them. He is mindful of me and my family, no matter what circumstances we may encounter now or in the future. I have to remember that.

He said in Moses 1:37:

Thankful for Dirty Dishes

It's not my least favorite thing to do (actually it's a little therapeutic for me) but here's the reason why I'm thankful for our dirty dishes, piles of laundry, dirty house, etc: a post from "An Old Fashioned Girl"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Note to Self - It Is What God Gave You Time For

There are so many things I want to do but I 'chose' not to because I have other priorities - our kids. But there are days that I sometimes wish I could just disappear and do everything I want (my hobbies mostly). Of course, I am thankful for our sons but I guess I can say it's also just human for me to sometimes wish that I can spend a lot of time for myself - to read books, to scrapbook, to go to places (w/o kids in tow), etc. 

Tonight my husband read something to us (yes, including our two sons) as we all just "hung-out" in our bedroom - actually ON our queen size memory foam bed. It was a talk given by Elder Neil L. Andersen on last month's General Conference. There was one paragraph that really hit home to me. He said:

Many voices in the world today marginalize the importance of having children or suggest delaying or limiting children in a family. My daughters recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother [not of our faith] with five children. She commented: "[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. ... Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get." She then adds: "Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze time in. It is what God gave you time for."

Well, that being said, I felt guilty right away and thankful (for that message) at the same time. She (whoever she is) is right: motherhood is a calling. Never mind my hobby to make greeting cards or read books.  My calling is with my family. We (my husband and I) are raising God's children and He entrusted us to meet their needs physically, emotionally, and spiritually (with His help). It is indeed a divine calling. My family is what God gave me time for. I have to remember that.

Side note: I love stamps but children are definitely CUTER than stamps. Hehe!

Note to Self - Babies Don't Keep

I loved the lesson given by our Relief Society President at our Relief Society class last Sunday. It was very timely for me. In summary, we were reminded that our children are what's important, not our things that we have or that we need to get done. Sometimes I tend to worry so much about keeping our house clean and organized. She shared a poem to one of the sisters and I asked our RS President to email it to me too... as a note to myself...

Cooking and cleaning can wait 'till tomorrow,
For babies grow up,
We've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs,
Dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.







Here's the whole poem (not sure if it's the original) from my searches on the Web:

Song for a Fifth Child
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo)
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo)
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo)

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Bullying

Found this from my Facebook friend. I thought it was great and I just had to post it here.

"A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and gave them the following exercise to perform. She had the children take a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stomp on it, and really mess it up but do not rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out, and look at how scarred and dirty it was. She then told them to tell it they're sorry. Now even though they said they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it. That is what happens when a child bullies another child. They may say they're sorry but the scars are there forever. The looks on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home."

Malachi 3:10

Malachi 3:10

Growing up, I always had faith and testimony in the power of paying tithes. I always knew that I have to pay my tithes because I already owed so much to our Father in Heaven and yet He still blesses me with the things He knows I will need in this life.

That testimony grew stronger when I was studying in BYU-Hawaii. I was an international student who didn't make much money but was blessed with scholarships that made it possible for me to pay for my studies. I had the IWES scholarship until before my last semester and last term. The IWES scholarship was good enough to get me through some things that were needed to be paid for in school. But that and my little income was not enough to help me pay for my "family contribution," buy my books for my classes, and to buy my other necessities like toiletries. I did my best to pay an honest tithing. I studied hard and then towards or before my last year and a half (I think) in school, I was able to apply for two different private scholarships. Those scholarships covered my expenses for my books and my family contribution. I was indeed blessed.

More than 3 years had passed since I graduated and I still have a strong testimony about paying an honest tithing. My husband and I have tried our best to be full-tithe payers. It is really a test of faith. Blessings, financial and not, have come through paying our tithes. For example, Jesse received two consecutive promotions from his work two months ago although he's only been there for a year. Now, I know it was partly because of his performance as an employee. But I firmly believe it also had something to do with paying our tithing. His promotions led us to have a little bit more income which we really needed because we were having another child and were moving to another (more expensive) place. His promotions came just at the right time that we needed it.

It wasn't only through financial things that we've been blessed. In his April 1982 General Conference talk, President Hinckley said, "... I am not here to say that if you pay an honest tithing you will realize your dream of a fine house, a Rolls Royce, and a condominium in Hawaii. The Lord will open the windows of heaven according to our need, and not according to our greed..." I know that to be true. Although we are a one-income family, Jesse was always able to find a job to sustain our family and I was always able to stay home with our children. We are all in good health. We have the gospel. We have two beautiful children whom we love so much! We are married in the Temple, the house of the Lord. We have our basic needs - food, shelter, and clothing. And the list can go on.

Bottom line is, I know that blessings come in the form that we NEED (not 'want') when we pay an honest tithing. The Lord has promised us in Malachi that He will bless us when we pay our tithing - and He will fulfill His promise when we do our part.

Happy Mother's Day

Some quotes I have from my book, "Errand of Angels In Honor and Praise of Mothers"

"As I come to understand the many talents and characteristics

of women, I realize how needed their strengths are in this

dispensation. We must remember that we are daughters of God

here to provide nurturing care for one another, family and friends -

loving care to soften the changes of life felt by all.

What a great opportunity we have to fill our God-given role.

He has given us the privilege to shape the lives of those entrusted

to our care. Even those of us who have not been blessed to have

children of our own can still be influential as trainers and nurturers.

It does not matter where we live, whether we are rich or poor,

whether our family is large or small. Each of us can share that

Christ-like love in our 'motherly ministry.' "

- Barbara W. Winder

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"There are times when only a Mother's faith

Can help us on life's way

And inspire in us the confidence

We need from day to day.

For a Mother's heart and a Mother's faith

And a Mother's steadfast love

Were fashioned by the Angels

And sent from God above."

- Anonymous

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I think every working mom goes through the times

when you feel that if you weren't working

perhaps you'd be giving them a little more.

I've always believed the quality of the time

is so much more important than the quantity."

- Jackie Zeman

Happy Mother's Day both to those who have children 

and to those who are still waiting to have children!

Puzzles and Analogy

I've had this post in "draft" for sometime now because

I was waiting to catch some photos to include in this post.

Credits to my obedient little sweet guy, C, who had lots of patience with me

whenever I told him to "pause" and "hold that position."

He did "hold it" when I told him to...
for letting me tell him to put the wrong shape at the wrong hole

(he has his shape sorter figured out already).

Oh, and for letting me give him the wrong piece in his puzzle

and put it in the wrong place even though it was confusing to him

because I was asking him to put it at the wrong spot

(he knows his puzzle now).

All these troubles just so I could take the pictures I wanted. Hehe!

You're such a big sport, C! :)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I love playing with C in the daytime.

He loves to play with his "mind games" like his 12-piece puzzle,

shape sorter, alphabet blocks, etc.

One day, months ago when he was still learning the concept of his shape sorters,

he got a little bit upset

because he couldn't put most of the shapes inside the ball

(it was the classic Tupperware Shape-o Ball toy).

He looked at me as if he was asking for my help, so I did.

He was happy when "we" finally finished it.

And then there was another day when he finally had

the interest to play with his 12-piece trucks puzzle.

It was one of the very first time he had any interest in playing with it.

But he couldn't figure out which pieces go together.

Again, he asked me to help him and I did.

When we finally finished the whole puzzle, he exclaimed,

"Oooh... trrruuucccckkk!!!!"

He was happy to see the drawings of the trucks that he saw

from putting his puzzle together - with me.

Recently, I wanted for some certain things in my life

to happen the way I wanted them to or the way I wished it could.

But because of some circumstances, they couldn't... or at least not yet.

As I watched C in those first few days that he was

playing with his "mind games," I had an analogy pop up in my head.

I may see a sector shape and try to put it inside a triangle hole,

or I may see a hexagon and try to put it in a pentagon hole

and I may get upset because it doesn't work out the way

I 'thought' it should. 

In other words, I may get upset when certain things in my life

don't work out the way I want them to.

But if I only take the time to kneel down and ask for His help,

the One who knows the situation better than I do & Who knows how

to solve it and what to do, just like how C asked me,

I will be able to know what to do that is in accordance to His will 

just like how C was able to figure out his shape sorter with my help.

It will work out.

I just need to know if my will (my shapes)

is in accordance to His will (the holes in the ball)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are some situations in life that I am clueless about 

and I don't know why we had to go through it,

either as an individual or as a family.

Sometimes I get so impatient

especially when it comes to wanting to know

why things has to happen in a certain way

and wanting impatiently to know how it would turn out in the end.

I can only see a piece of the puzzle.

But if I take that piece of puzzle (or piece of experience in life) and ask

His help so I may know what to do with what I am given,

according to what His plans are for me,

I will be able to figure it out, and I will see the bigger picture.

It is indeed a beautiful plan from Him.

Much more beautiful than that piece I saw (certain experiences)

before I asked for His help.

Receiving His help - and aligning my will with His -

will give me a better perspective about

the "pieces" of both the trials and joy that I have experienced,

am experiencing, and will experience in life

because in the long run I know that through those pieces,

I will be able to have a better and bigger "picture" someday.

It may or may not be during this earth life,

but it definitely will be sometime after.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sometimes, I complain about things more often than I need NOT to,

and I forget to be thankful for what I have.

I can only see a missing piece in the puzzle.

But if I put His will first all the time, and obey Him,

I will be given the piece I need (blessings) to fill the holes in my life.

I cannot do things on my own.

Just like C's experiences with his puzzles and shapes,

there are things in life that I "think" should work out the way it should,

the way it has to, or the way I want them to.

But, just like the way I was with C's situation

(who knew when was doing it wrong and when he's right),

the Lord knows things much much much better than I do.

He knows what needs to be done.

All I need to do is ask Him, obey Him, and have faith.

Things will eventually work out

according to His own plans and timetable.

"For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin,

Remove - and it was removed.

And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; 

wherefore [Thou] workest after men have faith."

(Ether 12:30)

"Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that

the Lord is able to do all things according to His will,

for the children of men,

if it so be that they exercise faith in Him?

Wherefore, let us be faithful to Him."

(1 Nephi 7)

Of Things That Matter Most

Yesterday at Church, we had a nice lesson about Pres. Uchtdorf's

last year's Oct. General Conference talk titled,
"Of Things That Matter Most"

I think it's pretty interesting that, 

just two years after the prophet Pres. Monson's General Conference talk,

"Finding Joy in the Journey", 

Pres. Uchtdorf reminded us again of things that matter most in this life.

What matters most is not our personal things/properties
(car, gadgets [cellphones, etc], or Facebook accounts),
or our jobs (though it's a necessity),
or our "status" as an individual
(Best Actress? Miss America? CEO?),
but it's our relationship with our Heavenly Father and our Savior,
our relationship with our family, friends, and our fellowmen.
Most of us know this already,
but a lot of us (if not all) still take it for granted.



It's been really "busy" in this world lately - even if it doesn't have to.
What I meant by that is - of course, we need to go to work
and all that to provide for our family.
But what are we doing when we are not at work?
When we are at home?

What are our priorities?
Is it work? Is it family? Is it ourselves? Our material things?
I think it helps us focus on things that matter most
when we know what our priorities are.

Example:

These days, technology is definitely a great "invention."
I do believe that Heavenly Father gave those bright minds to the people
whose been inventing these great technologies for our time
so these technologies can be put to good use.
Because of it, we can watch the upcoming General Conference this weekend
via the internet.
Because of it, we can stay connected with our family faster
(cellphones, email, or chat rooms)
than it ever did in decades past.
We can now search for things we don't know
or not too familiar about pretty easily
without having to go to a public library
and rack up all the shelves to find what we're looking for.

I can go on and on about the advantages of technology.
But everything has its pros and cons.
Technology, if not used right, can be a distraction too.

 Take our groovy mobile phones, for example.
They're almost like - well, they ARE, handheld computers now
(at least that's how I see it).
You can surf the web, take photos and videos, play games, etc.
It's really beneficial and useful
(I love my husband's GPS on his phone).
But sometimes we spend too much time with it that it's hard to ever have
a good, nice, FOCUSED conversation with family and friends these days
w/o us fidgeting around these things at the same time.
Other 'distractions' to our priorities can be
videogames, computers, iPods, our household chores,
even our own hobbies.

I like technology. I think it is great.
I just think there should be limits to everything.

I am a stay-home wife and mother - full-time.
My priority is not the material things we have.
It is my relationship with our Father in Heaven and our Savior,
and my relationship with my family.

I know for myself that I try to get as much things done as I could
around our home as long as we don't have visitors.
I get so busy sometimes even to the point that our son has been
playing on his own for most hours of the day (usually Mondays).
Sometimes there's nothing I can do about it
(like when I clean our bathrooms -
I don't want him to smell the chemicals so I keep him inside his bedroom).
But sometimes I can do chores and play with him at the same time if I want to.
(like laundry days).

I've tried this past year to spend as much "quality" time as I could
with our son and not with the chores that needs to get done,
or being on the computer for a long time.

I try to stay away from the computer throughout the day each day
as long as our son is awake.

Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes I'm not.

I do get the chores done in a timely manner, and I get to reply
to my messages on my online accounts (like Facebook) all the time.
But I always make sure I spent the same amount of time (or even more)
with our son as I did with the chores around the house.
It actually is my main reason growing up why I wanted to stay home with
my kids - to spend time quality with them and take care of them.

Now our son is taking a nap - I AM ABLE TO BLOG!
As I am writing this post (with my thoughts scattered all around, obviously),
it makes me think at the same time if what I've been doing was enough.
I feel there is still a lot of room for improvement.

To be able to see what matters most,
I think about what I will take with me when I leave this earth -
the eternal perspective.
It's gonna be all about what I did while I was here.
Did I live my life on earth doing my best to be as "worthy" as I can be
to keep entering the Temple of the Lord?
Did I live it full of memories of my family with me,
and not with material things?
Did I share my blessings & have given service to my fellowmen enough?
More than enough?
Things like that. You know.

I have a couple of goals this... month (baby steps!)
First is to improve my spiritual well-being.
Second is to improve my relationship with my family.
These are what matters most to me.

I challenge you to make your goals too! :)

On Christmas Day

Merry Christmas everybody!

On the 8th day of Christmas

I've always loved this video.

This was posted on Youtube last year. 

I think it's a perfect message in my blog today because 

today and/or tomorrow, a lot of us will be busy thinking about Christmas gifts to buy 

and to give to each other. 

It's a good reminder to me what I need to focus on today, tomorrow, and always.

"The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul. 

To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop

the last syllable and it becomes the spirit of Christ."

- Pres. Thomas S. Monson

On the 11th day of Christmas

"I had an overwhelming feeling of calm and peace come to me.."

"I felt this warmth coming over me like I've never experienced in my life..."

"Almost like a hug which was wrapped around me..."

"... it was indescribable. It felt like pure love.  At that moment I knew without a shadow of doubt that Jesus Christ lives and that He is the epitome of love ..."

"The birth of the Savior means to me is that the world has a chance to change, the world has a chance  to become what He intended to become in the beginning, the world has a chance to accept His love and follow Him..."

Famous Failures

I wanna share this motivational video

that my friend posted on his Facebook profile:

And a poem to supplement this video:

DON'T QUIT
(Unknown)

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit --
Rest if you must, but don't quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow --
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a fair and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out --
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, --
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

Message from Elder Robert D. Hales

I've watched this before.
I saw this video again on the blog of my friend, Sam.

And it is a good reminder for me as a parent.

I thought to share it as well.

"His Hands" - Kenneth Cope

A song by Kenneth Cope.

Lyrics:

His hands, tools of creation,
stronger than nations, power without end.
And yet through them, we find our truest friend.
His hands, sermons of kindness,
healing men's blindess,
halting years of pain.
Children waiting to be held again.

His hands would serve His whole life through,
Showing man what hands might do,
giving, ever giving endlessly.
Each day was filled with selflessness,
and I'll not rest 'til I make up my hands what they could be,
'til these hands become like those from Galilee.

His hands, lifting a leper,
warming a beggar, calling back the dead,
breaking bread, five thousand fed.
His hands, hushing contention,
pointing to heaven, ever free of sin,
then bidding man to follow Him.

His hands would serve His whole life through,

Showing man what hands might do,

giving, ever giving endlessly.

Each day was filled with selflessness,

and I'll not rest 'til I make up my hands what they could be,

'til these hands become like those from Galilee.

His hands, clasped in agony,

as He lay pleading, bleeding in the garden

while just moments away other hands betray Him,

out of greed, shameful greed

and then His hands are trembling,

straining to carry the beam that they've been led to,

as He stumbles through the streets,

heading towards the hill on which He died.

He would die.

They take His hands, His mighty hands, those gentle hands,

and then they pierce them, they pierce them,

He lets them because of love.

From birth to death was selflessness

and clearly now I see Him with His hands calling to me.

And though I'm not yet as I would be,

He has shown me how I could be.

I will make my hands like those from Galilee.

"It Passes All My Understanding" - Cherie Call

I was sitting on a southbound plane 

I was buried in a magazine

When the man in the seat next over

Wanted to talk to me

He talked about the universe,

He talked about Saturn's rings.

He said, "I might be an atheist,

Except for just one thing:

It passes all my understanding

How it all worked out just right

The distance that we live from the sun,

The stars that shine at night.

We may prove that it was just an accident

But how did it begin?

It passes all my understanding."

I told him, "You're a scholar;

You know things that I don't know.

But I believe a God in heaven

Made everything below.

And I know we are His children;

I've known it since I was two

But when it comes to being struck with awe

I'm just like you.

It passes all my understanding 

All the beauty that we have here.

From the majesty of the canyons

To a tiny baby's ear.

And even when I can't believe it

He still believes in me.

It passes all my understanding.

We watched the sun set through the clouds

In a tiny little airplane window

With people sleeping all around

And I thought of just how we just expect this world to be.

And when the flight attendant passed me by,

I threw away my magazine.

It passes all my understanding 

That the Lord knows both our names

And that He made this world for everyone

That was sitting on that plane.

And in spite of all man's distractions,

He offers us His peace.

That passes all my understanding.

(Photo by ME! Hehe!)

I was reminded of this song yesterday

On our way home from Vegas.

We were surrounded by nothing else

but dry land, dry grass, and dry "cactus" trees.

The color of the sunset was beautiful!
From the top, it was dark blue,

turning into blue, then light blue,

and pale blue,

then yellow,

then dark yellow,

yellow orange,

orange,

red orange,

red,

and some shades of black at the very bottom (the horizon).

I studied each color for a long time

before it all faded

and everything turned into dark, starry, night.

It was beautiful!
Like what Louis Armstrong said,

"What a wonderful world!"