Colleagues and Feedback

I have been the treasurer and newsletter editor of the Utah Valley Artist Guild for more than six years.  Tonight we held our annual potluck and Friendly Feedback.  I worked on a painting with the aim of receiving a critique.  Beforehand Richard gave the same advice as the consensus of the artists.  The Guild is currently thriving and our membership includes a number of successful artists.  I am grateful for this association.

Talent

Today I worked on two projects, one a stained glass depicting the burial of the toddler son of a handcart Pioneer, Job Welling, my ancestor, the other an oil painting of my first great-granddaughter, Tegarion, with the dolly I made for her.  Both required work and craft and talent.  I am grateful that my hands can hold the brushes and the tools and my eyes can see well enough for me to practice the gift and challenge of artistic talent.

Time

I do not fear death although I am slightly worried about how I will get there.  I do not welcome the idea of dying though I came very close to dying four years ago.  I am grateful for the time I have had since the surgery for cancer that saved my life.  I am fairly healthy for a sedentary 76-year-old.  Today I served for four hours in the temple and then after eating lunch and doing some banking I spent another three hours helping a crippled neighbor go to doctor appointments, visit her husband who is in the rehab center with a broken leg and do some shopping.  I drive the special lift equipped handicapped van that her husband usually drives when his leg isn't broken.  I am grateful that I have had time to do these things.

Service

Last night I received a call from April Touchette.  Her husband broke his leg and is in the hospital.  April needed to be driven to an eye appointment.  Fortunately I have given her rides several times before in her handicap equipped van.  Sister Perry and I had visited Birthe Champenois several minutes longer than I planned so I was about 10 minutes late getting on to April's home.  We found good parking at the hospital in a space with room to put the ramp down but April was uncertain about which floor the doctors office was on.  We spent more than 10 minutes locating the office where she had an appointment at 11:20 AM.  Fortunately from then on things went fairly well.   She was called back to see the doctor before too long.  It took another two hours before her appointment was finished, and she received the news that she would go blind without extensive treatment.  As I drove her home she explained that she another appointment tomorrow but knew I wouldn't be able to help her because that was when I went to the temple.  I told her to look at the time of the appointment because my afternoons are free.  Fortunately her appointment is in the early afternoon.  I'm grateful that she thought of me as someone who might help her.  Service takes time but it is gratifying to help those who really need help.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve.

Win Win

Based on other things I have been learning I felt it was necessary to address a situation that has been bothering me.  I asked my son for a private council to address the issue but I knew it could be a problem.  I had not yet studied the idea of 'win-win' in depth but I decided against a confrontation with blame at the fore.  Instead I was willing to listen and solicit information.  As a result, not only have we reached an agreement about my initial concern, but I have obtained his help in helping me attain another goal.  I am grateful for conciliation.

Routine

I have been listening to Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" and he's addresses scheduling by the week instead of the day, putting a broader perspective on plans.  I  believe long-range planning integrated into the daily needs is wise but the establishment of a basic daily routine has transformed my life.  I am grateful for routine.

Growth

Growth and expansion are not highly favored and they apply to things like waistlines. They can be uncomfortable and inconvenient in other areas as well.  Life is a dynamic it does not stay the same.  Stability is often seen as a very valuable state and stretching our minds and hearts to encompass challenge is rarely comfortable, th

Growth

I just had a post erased.  It was about the necessity of growth and how it can be uncomfortable at how without growth the dynamic of life dictates that we will shrink we cannot stand still.  I am grateful for growth.

Teachers

I decided to download a Kindle version of the Stephen Covey book 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' which I have never read, however I took a brief Education Week course from the author in my youth and when I was at the BYU he was my bishop.  As I listen to the book I realize that much of what he says is reflected in what JBP says and writes.  It is about living and acting in a genuine way instead of adapting convenient but deceptive practices.  I am grateful for good teachers.

Technology

Of course the word technology tends to refer to all the very clever gadgets that have come into the world and now threaten to fill our streets with self driving cars and our skies with drones.  But some of my favorite technology is the most basic, like really good knives that retain their edge.  I have two knives I keep in sheaths in a drawer.  I have another knife that looks very similar that I hang with my other kitchen knives on a magnetic bar near my sink.  The sheathed knives are far superior to the look-alike.  They rarely if ever need to be sharpened.  The other knife seems to dull very soon after I run it through the sharpener. 
I am grateful for simple but excellent technology.

Courage

My oldest son changed his profile picture on Facebook to the face of a boy who suffered calumny and death threats after he was chosen as a focus by an Indian activist who singled him out and set him up to fit a narrative.  The boy received criticism for smiling and standing quietly while having insults shouted at him while an old man pounded on a drum inches from his face.  The media rushed to judgement as did many others who chose to believe the concocted narrative about the event.  I am grateful for the courage of those who stand by Christian principles under provocation.

Challenges

More than two years ago I began work on a stained glass panel depicting the burial of young Job Welling Jr.  on the handcart trail in Iowa.  I had taken pictures of the site years before but other events intervened.  As I finally unearthed the initial design from the oblivion of being buried beneath other unfinished tasks I realized that certain aspects of the design would have to be revamped.  I changed the woman's pose and added a bush of sunflowers to break up the curved lines of the handcart wheels.  This occurred before I entered my new phase of life when my studio became a haven of  creativity and serenity preserved by ceiling height curtains.  The prospect of making all those sunflowers daunted me.  Surely it was inspiration that led me to recruit two of my grandchildren as apprentices.  Now they are active participants in the design.  I am grateful for challenge turned to opportunity.

Water of Life

I love that we use water in the Sacrament each Sunday instead of wine.  While wine has certain ways of representing the blood Christ shed in terms of its color and method of preparation in a wine press, Christ, speaking to the Samaritan woman said "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: ¹⁴ But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
I am grateful that even though I live in a desert, the snow falls on the mountains and provides enough to nourish and water for the entire year.  I am grateful for the cup I take when I renew my covenant on the Sabbath.

Necessities of Existence

Most of the time I take air for granted.  Yet without a regular supply of air death is inevitable.  There is a limit of how much foreign gas and other pollutants can be present before air is dangerous.  Bitter cold can make air dangerous to breathe.  When we drove east this fall we encountered smoky air that made me worry about proceeding on our track, and smoke inhalation is a greater cause of death than fire itself.  So I am grateful for the air that I usually ignore.

Heating

Last night an avalanche closed a nearby canyon.  Snow and cold surrounds my home, but I am inside and cozy with the occasional whisper of the heating system as it turns on and sends warm air throughout my house.  I wear my woolen socks and a quilted house coat now and then, but I am very grateful for the system that brings fuel into my home without the need to venture into the forest with an ax. 

From Pot to Kettle to Frying Pan

In the past month or so I have taken steps to reduce my participation in useless entertainment.  I deleted several games from my various devices.  These were in the form of 'jewel fall' games and I had let them use up a fair amount of time with the excuse that they kept a slight edge on my dulling senses.  Next I set a limit on my Facebook time, using a timer to ensure that I didn't spend more than ten minutes a day.  Then I noticed that the time I had spent on games and Facebook had migrated to online shopping.  The one thing all these activities had in common was the way they kept me from using my time more productively.  At one time years ago I spent way too much time reading stupid books.  They acted as an anodyne and distraction for some serious situations in my life.  The problem with reading paper books is that you really can't do much else when you are reading.  Once I discovered audio books I found that I could do many things while listening, although it is not really possible to carry on a coherent conversation and get the sense of a book you are listening to at the same time.  But I have painted and created stained glass, cleaned the house, and driven many miles while enjoying audio presentations. 
I was recruited into a family project to pay attention to daily expenditures and avoid needless expenses.  This has brought my internet shopping under control.  This evening, deprived of empty entertainment, I carried out several small projects.  I am grateful for gaining control of some of my folly.

Putting it all together

During the past year I have employed some of my grandchildren to help in various ways.  At first it was only the four oldest Hancock children who came to my house to do various jobs.  Jacqueline was in charge of sweeping and mopping the kitchen and dining room floors.  Diana was asked to vacuum and dust the living room.  Calvin mowed the lawn and later swept the leaves and shoveled snow.  Adam was put in charge of weeding and later had the job of keeping my car looking nice.  This was an evolution of the tasks they had done previously of helping clean out a very messy work area.  I found that they were able to proceed without detailed guidance and even exceeded my expectations.  Last spring they helped with a number of tasks in the yard.  Eventually I asked Ralph and Lelia to help keep the yard watered.  Each month I settle up with them, paying a small amount that adds up to a couple of hundred dollars.  Now and then I give small jobs to Jared and Timothy. 
As winter approached I wanted to continue providing a job for Ralph and Lelia since there was no longer a need for watering, then I considered that I had been stuck with no or little progress on my stained glass panel because of the design.  I had included a lot of sunflowers which were tedious to create in glass because of the many little parts.  I decided to make Ralph and Lelia my studio apprentices and teach them how to cut and grind glass.  There was a learning curve involved, but I had already developed the habit of restoring my working area at the end of every session and that was part of what they learned.  They come and prepare the studio by folding the rugs out of the way so they don't accumulate glass shards.  They put on safety glasses and face masks to protect them from glass dust.  After completing their task for the day they restore the studio to order.  To my delight their skill rapidly increased.  Soon they had created all the petals and I gave them green glass to make leaves.  Finally, today I set up areas where they could solder the petals to the centers and the leaf halves to each other.  They discovered that they needed fume masks and proceeded to develop deftness and skill in applying the line of solder using a very hot soldering iron.  Neither suffered burns, and both observed good protocol in replacing their soldering irons in the holders provided.  I am grateful for the opportunity to teach my grandchildren.

Old Dog, New Tricks

A year ago I had resigned myself to a gradual decline with no expectation of improvement, but in 2018 I made some profound changes that have had a very positive effect.  My latest aim is taking firm control of my financial situation.  I am grateful that I can still improve.

Abundance

Last night a group of family members met online to begin a course in financial self reliance. One of the subjects was setting a budget and sticking to it.   We also talked about the meaning of abundance.  Today I worked on the chart detailing areas of expenditure.  Tonight I went to dinner at Olive Garden with my daughter Nancy and four granddaughters following Miranda's second-place performance in her first Figure skating competition.  Abundance can be a simple matter of paying a little more to sit down with loved ones and have a pleasant waiter serve you.  I am grateful for such abundance.

Addressing Reliance

A group of us are meeting by means of Chatzy on Sunday evenings for a twelve month course about 'Self Reliance' although Henry B. Eyring, a member of the First Presidency, apparently took exception to the title of the course, feeling that it is not so much 'Self' reliance as it is reliance on the Lord that brings peace.   I believe he has a point.  As JBP says: I'm going to say what I think and let things happen.  Faith in truth-faith in the logos.   Make a decision about how to use your words.  Are you going to use your words to manipulate or tell the truth and let things happen.  Get better all the time at carefully articulating what constitutes the truth.  Don't expect to deceive God and reality itself.  Your lies will aggregate and take you out- self contempt.
If we fail to integrate God and his great love and gifts into our plans and considerations we ignore the most important aspect of our existence.  I am grateful that I know I am a Child of God and that he trusts me with stewardship for myself and others.

 

Death and Being Born Again

Tonight at Stake Conference we heard from four people who told of being raised by faithful parents but making unwise choices that led them into worldly practices, one changed course when he was a teen, the next took several decades of increasingly wasteful behavior before he joined AA and eventually found his way back.  The next was a young woman who had been perfectly complacent about her worldly ways, observing Tattoo Wednesday, and joking that her blood was half caffeine, until one day her mother died suddenly and when she found that her father intended to go to church a few days later she couldn't bear to think that he would be there all alone and she went with him and the way to repentance opened.  In September she will be sealed to her husband and daughter.  Her husband met her in a bar and must have liked her wild ways.  He never really lost his faith, he just didn't do what was needed to nourish it until his wife changed her heart.  Then we found that a slight disturbance at the beginning of the meeting was caused by a woman dying.  It really emphasized the meaning of the several testimonies of the wonder of being able to be born again.  I am grateful that I was born in the time and place and circumstances that put me where the Gospel is on the earth and in my life.

Beneficial Errors

This morning I carefully measured the top of my palette and sent an email to myself so that when I went to Lowe's I would be able to buy a piece of acrylic that would fit the top of my palette.  A store employee was called to the plastic cutting area and I looked up my measurements but they seemed wrong.  I thought I had recorded 24 1/2 inches but my email said 23 1/2 inches.  The piece would cost almost $30 and it wasn't worth taking the risk that I had hit the wrong number.  I had considered the alternative of cutting a piece of plastic that is quarter inch thick for my pallet top but I wanted to retain it to back my new stained-glass project.  Meanwhile I have been revitalizing my stained-glass work area and today it occurred to me that there was a piece of flexible plastic with grids scored onto it residing under the moisture trough that catches water from the grinder and the saw.  There is no real need for this piece of plastic to be there.  I trimmed it down to size and it is better than the piece of acrylic I had planned to buy.  So today I am grateful for making an error because it opened a new and better possibility.

Other People's Problems

Tonight I attended a small gathering of ward Relief Society sisters to listen to Chenae Duerden talk about her life and the challenges that she has faced.  She is one of the young mothers in the ward that seems to have it all together, but she spoke of the period of depression she experienced after several miscarriages and a near miss.  Somewhat depleted, she had another child and found that she had a rare metabolic disorder that required nearly constant nursing.  She found herself struggling with questions and feeling downhill from the high she had experienced as a young woman, a college student and missionary.  One of the illustrations for her slide presentation showed a drawing of a heart with a diagonal, jagged split held together with a band aid titled 'Broken'. 
I am grateful for the opportunity to know of the challenges faced by others and how they have found strength. 

Replacement and Renewal

14 years ago I purchased a glass grinder even though I had not been doing stained-glass because of being involved in raising children and feeling that that was a hobby that was not particularly compatible with babies.  The grinder I purchased was on a deep discount which is partly why I bought it.  It was an excellent piece of machinery however as years passed there was a certain amount of deterioration and I realized that it would be wise for me to look for another grinder.  Today my new grinder was delivered and I packed up the old one which, while still useful and in some ways superior to the new model, has served its purpose and was due for replacement.  I am grateful for a prophet who understands that the same thing can apply to the aspects of the Church such as temple ordinances.  Change is not a judgement on the former ways but a refreshing and renewal.

My Blue Haven

I spent a moment contemplating the idea of simply falling asleep without changing into my nightgown, stowing my daytime coverlet and saying my prayers, but it was relatively easy to overcome that impulse and summon the energy to end the day in a way that would fit with my environment of choice.  I have created a haven that blends creativity and serenity.  The consequences of backsliding are unacceptable.  I am grateful for good ideas, whatever the source.

Visitors and closer looks

I invited members of the UVAG board to come to my home tomorrow. I intend to show them my studio which is been revitalized and turned into a place of serenity and creativity by virtue of changing some of my behaviors and ideas.  Although my home is now much more orderly than it used to be, knowing that I was inviting colleagues into my home made me take a closer look at areas that needed improvement.  Primary among these was my central hall where I store my outer clothing and shoes as well as the washer dryer and cleaning utensils such as my vacuum cleaner.  The upper parts of the walls had grown mold because of the moisture from the washer and dryer. In addition the doorway from the living room into the hallway was ugly and rough with broken plaster and voids.  After dropping my grandsons off at seminary this morning I went shopping for materials to change the situation in my hallway including lumber, molding and mold destroying primer/paint.  As I finish my day and welcome sleep I am grateful that I was able to take care of these issues .  My hallway is now a relatively pleasant place or at least it doesn't bring attention to its deficiencies.  I am grateful for accomplishing a task.

Savoring Small Things

I purchased several pairs of wool socks and keep them handy to wear instead of bare feet on chilly floors and when I sleep.  They seem to lessen cramping and my entire body benefits when my feet are warm.
I found that I can use a quilted nylon coat that seemed redundant for outer wear as a housecoat.  It is just the right weight to keep me comfortable without being too heavy.  I am grateful for humble comforts.

Daily Gratitude

I intend to keep a daily gratitude journal on this blog.  Four days ago my family gathered to help me celebrate my 76th birthday.  Lucinda and her children came for lunch and we were able to use the oven my son Richard fixed by replacing the igniter to prepare toasted cheese and ham rolls.  I assembled a fruit salad and found that I had frozen mini eclairs for dessert sufficient to feed all of us.  They brought me roses and balloons and the children brought a variety of gifts.  They took down the Christmas decorations and Jacqueline and Diana stayed behind to clean the house.  In the evening Trisha and Nancy brought their families along with takeout from Olive Garden and ice cream cake from 31 flavors and a cake roll.  David and his family joined us.  I invited the other members of the Utah Valley artist guild  board to come to my home on Tuesday after I return from the temple.  We will have a planning meeting for 2019 and I also want to show them my Blue Haven, the serene yet highly functional studio that grew out of my determination to make my bed and clean up my room. I am grateful that I can change for the better.