Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

I'm done .  I have reached the end of my formal education.  What an amazing journey.  I honestly had no idea when I decided to go back to school where the journey would take me.  Who knew I would go from having a teeny inkling to become a nurse that I would far surpass that and actually obtain a Master Degree in Nursing?  Not me, that's for sure! The story progressed like this: January 2009:  I was busy working and helping to take care of my mom with all of her maladies caused by diabetes.  Suddenly the thought came over me that I should complete the classes to get licensed as a CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant).  I assumed that I was given that inspiration in order to better help my mother. March 2009:  Woke up one day with the knowledge that I HAD to go back to school and become a registered nurse (RN).  It didn't make sense because I had a wonderful job that I planned to retire from and I was still investing a lot of time ...

Shandra, Bubba, and I decided to take a trip to see Body World's Animal Inside Out at the Leonardo in Salt Lake.  It was very interesting.  Real animals were preserved and displayed so that it was possible to see what was happening inside the bodies. Reindeer The circulatory system of a dog The heart of a bull The circulatory system of an ostrich The muscles of camels  We also had fun at the Leonardo exploring things like stop-action movies and green screens. We learned a lot and had tons of fun!  

Throughout my life I have been plagued with that nagging voice in my head that reminds me that no matter how good I do something it is never good enough.  If I cook dinner (yes it does happen on rare occasion!) and I start feeling good about myself the voice pipes up with things like: So, you made dinner!  Big deal - you didn't make it yesterday, or the day before, or even last week!  Cooking dinner once is no big deal - and if it follows history the dinner probably doesn't even taste very good and no one will like it! When I make time to visit my dad I hear: Oh how sweet, you grudgingly gave up a few extra minutes on your beloved computer.  Did you pay attention to what he was telling you?  Or did you spend the time muttering under your breath that he tells the same stories over and over again. You pay more attention to his lack of housekeeping skills than you do his talents! You don't go because you love to spend time with your dad - you only go because ...

Sometimes I just can’t stand it when I think about how badly the people I love are hurting.  I  know and understand that we are given trials so that we can learn, grow, and especially learn to rely on the Lord for help and comfort.   That makes sense (even though I don’t like it).   However, my heart just hurts so much when I see people struggling with difficult situations – especially when there I can’t seem to find the time or the resources or understanding to help.   It makes me wonder how the Lord can bear it, knowing that there are so very many people who are sad.   With His expanded capacity to love, His heart must ache all of the time. I love these scriptures D&C 121:7-9   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 over a...

Robin celebrated Corbin's birthday by renting this giant water slide.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  The kids all raced up and down millions of times.   All of the sisters gave it a go and found that we were having more fun than we had had in a very long time!  It was difficult to climb up to the top, but worth every sore muscle to shoot down the slide at exhilarating speeds! Dad even got in on the fun!  He went down several times and loved every minute of it!  I can't remember when I laughed this hard!  It was truly one of my favorite days ever! 

Kim's sister, Barb, is married to a great guy. Ron has had health problems that has resulted in end-stage kidney failure.  This past year he was put on the list for a donor kidney. Ron's daughter, Natalie, is also married to a great guy. Jared unselfishly tested and surprisingly found that he was a match. Yesterday Jared gave Ron a kidney.  What an incredible gift!  Today when we visited we found them in adjoining rooms challenging each other to walking races down the hall and to see who could pass gas first.  Amazing! I am in awe of such generosity.  I'm in awe of the miracle of medicine that makes it possible to take a healthy organ from one person and place it in another body to give it a chance at a healthy life.  I'm in awe of the  coincidence* that Natalie just happened to fall in love and marry the one person who could save her father's life. WOW!  Truly miracles happen! *PS, I don't believe in coincidences

Today has been a spiritual feast of great doctrine, reminders of how we should be conducting our lives, challenges to do a little better, a little bit of guilt (my own) for not doing enough, and being around good friends that envelop me in love. And then I read a post from one of my favorite bloggers, " Middle-Aged Mormon Man ".  He has a way of writing about gospel topics in a way that just makes sense in the world today.  It makes me want to take those principles and embed them into my heart and try to live a little better.  The topic today stems from the fact that there are some women who claim that they could be better members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints if they were allowed to hold the priesthood.  They have been protesting and causing a big uproar, even trying to break into the Priesthood session of General Conference (which I find funny since it was broadcast on television so that all could see anyway). Apparently some of these women a...