Message for March 2011

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.


Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
by Robert Robinson
Music by John Wyeth

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

Message for February 2011

"Do It Anyway"
` accredited to Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.
Give the best you have and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.

Message for the New Year - January 2011

"I'm not here to tell you how to get the perfect Margiela wardrobe or the perfect man or the perfect job in fashion. I've had all these things, and trust me, there's a bigger prize to be had. I believe the world will change only when we change ourselves. And that starts with finding ourselves. And that starts with listening to ourselves, learning to quiet the clamor in our minds and the voices of everyone around us and moving toward what feels right. It means taking a journey like the spectacular and terrifying and ultimatley mind-blowing adventure I've been on. I hope that you, too, will choose to have a journey instead of just a life. Actually, I hope it's a full-on expedition." ` Kelly Cutrone in If You Have To Cry, Go Outside

Christmas Message for December 2010

I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day

And in despair I bowed my head.
There is no peace on Earth I said,
For hate is strong
That mocks the song
Of Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men.

Then peeled the bells more loud and deep,
GOD IS NOT DEAD, NOR DOTH HE SLEEP!
The wrong shall fail,
The right prevail,
With Peace On Earth, Good Will To Men

Ah, Marriage!

As a child, I dreamed of the day when I would meet "Prince Charming" and live happily ever after. Then I grew up! Marriage is not for the Pansies or Faint of Heart of this world. You have to roll up your sleeves and learn to work with someone who does everything, from paying the bills to raising children to loading the dishwasher, totally different from you. Then there comes a point in marriage when you think "Marriage shouldn't be this hard. Maybe it will be "greener" if I try it somewhere else." But it's not! I know a lady who tried 6+ times and the men were all the same. It's the ones who decide to stick it out that find that, most often, except for in extreme cases when the person you married turns out to be a total nut job, marriage does have it's benefits. #1 Security! Wives and Children, particularly, are safer in this crazy world, if the original man is around the house. Of course, the original man needs to be at least sane even though he is different and not the threat himself. #2 Self-improvement! I've learned a lot of what I can do better on when I see my husband and children copying me. You don't know how bad something sounds until you have it said back to you. #3 This world is a lonely place without consistent companionship.

For all you married people out there, good luck and carry on! And for you unmarried who are still debating whether or not it is worth it? Don't throw the "baby" out with the dirty bath water.

Sincerely,
Poor Anne

Signs of the Times

I have noticed that a lot of Hollywood movies and even some Christain movies focus on how terrible things are going to get at "The End of the World." I do believe that things are going to get worse before they get better and that we are going to have to rely on common decency to survive. But I also believe that things WILL GET BETTER. No matter how many times "the world" has tried to oppress, knock down, degrade us, the human race, we have risen from the ashes stronger, more resilient, and more wise. I believe we will do it again, one final, last time and then live with, Our Lord, in peace for a thousand years. - Poor Anne

"The lesson which the Signs of the Times should teach us is one of patience, endurance, and calm reliance on the Lord. The result will be that we shall be stronger, wiser, purer, happier, for the experience gained, and the work of the Lord ... will yet triumph gloriously over all its foes, and the infinite atonement of the Redeemer will accomplish its perfect work. After the trial comes the reward."

--- John Taylor, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith

A Child's Prayer

God, make my life a little light,
Within the world to glow;
A little flame that burneth bright,
Wherever I may go.

God, make my life a little flower,
That giveth joy to all,
Content to bloom in native bower,
Although the place be small.

God, make my life a little song,
That comforteth the sad,
That helpeth others to be strong,
And makes the singer glad.

- M. Betham-Edwards