Bringing out the best!

Bringing out the best!

"Pictures of destroyed homes and flooded neighborhoods are heartbreaking, but the inspiring images of neighbors helping neighbors and average citizens performing heroic acts has shown Texas, and America, at its best.

The eyes of the country have been on Texas as it deals with the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey.

Along with coverage of the storm, it’s the efforts of citizen volunteers that are becoming a major focus of the story.

As William Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, stressed  in interviews before the storm hit, when it comes to most disasters, government alone can’t save the day, citizens need to be ready to save neighbors in harm’s way, and, quote, “People need to be the help before the help arrives.”

And that is exactly what we’ve seen in Texas.

There is no telling how many lives have been saved because countless individuals took it upon themselves to wade through streets searching for family, friends, and strangers trapped by rising flood waters, using their personal boats, kayaks, and jet skis to reach people rescue workers could not, and opening up their homes to those who had nowhere to go.

Remarkably, much of the major news media almost seems shocked by all the good Samaritan stories coming out of Houston and other communities in southeast Texas rocked by the storm.

Perhaps that’s because they’ve grown so accustomed to giving wall-to-wall coverage to fringe causes and groups that are more interested in dividing America than making it better.

Frankly, it’s increasingly hard to follow the news without starting to feel as though a protest or march or made-for-TV riot is around every corner.

But as Texans have shown us, civil society, the little platoons that philosopher Edmund Burke referred to, while missing from most headlines and cable news, is still there.

As a native of the Lone Star State, I’m not surprised by the good we’ve seen. Texas got its very name from the Native American word Tejas, which means friendship and ally. And it’s that sentiment that has been on full display in the aftermath of Harvey.

My guess is many of you aren’t surprised either—because as heroic and inspiring as many acts we’ve seen on our television screens and social media feeds have been, this is what you would do if faced with the same circumstance.

It’s what most of the folks across the street from you would do, and it’s what most of the people in the next town or city of your state would do.

What we’ve witnessed in Texas is the best of America. People from different cultural and economic and racial backgrounds coming together to demonstrate that all lives matter and showing through actions, not protests, what it looks like to love thy neighbor."

Con amor,

Vero

Passion of Cooking

Today I went to learn the tricks of the trade of making famous Spanish dishes like Gazpacho, Tortilla de Patatas, Bonito (atun) con Tomate, Sangria, y tarta de Santiago.

Everything was prepared in two hours and came out delicious! What I love about this lady was her great passion for cooking. She loves to cook and it shows! Not that she is fat or anything, is that she transmits her enthusiasm with every dish she makes.

Today I want to talk to you about passion. I am not talking about passion in the romantic sense; I am talking about passion in the “I am so excited to get up this morning and conquer the world today” kind of passion. There are very few things more powerful than a person who is passionate about accomplishing something. They ignite a spark in the people they come in contact with. They carry such excitement with them that creates a magnetic force that attracts everyone to them. Passion is incredibly powerful.

Have you ever talked to someone who is so excited and so enthusiastic that it was like a ray of sunshine coming right at you?  You can’t help but get excited with them!

As powerful a tool as passion can be, how can people that are not feeling passionate in their lives create that kind of passion? The answer is simple – HAVING A PURPOSE YOU LOVE! When we have a purpose that we really want to achieve that creates passion within us. We become excited to take on the challenge. We become enthusiastic about making the efforts necessary to achieve our purpose. We suddenly have a boundless energy that we didn’t know existed within us. No challenge seems too difficult to us because we are passionate about accomplishing our purpose. How can you tell if you have that passion today? Look at this list of things that Passion Is and ask yourself if you have that passion today.

Passion is:

• It’s always being eager
• It’s going the extra mile
• It’s finding the inner fuel when you thought your tank was dry
• It’s your positive attitude in a world of negativity
• It’s being excited without fear of embarrassment
• It’s doing the unexpected
• It’s an unwillingness to accept second best or “good enough”
• It’s ever enthusiastic
• It lets you execute when you’re exhausted
• It’s never afraid to talk to someone you don’t know
• It allows strangers to become acquaintances, who then desire to become friends
• It influences friends to want to feel that same passion and zeal they see in you
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So do you have passion in your life? If you do then I say AWESOME and keep up the good work! If you don’t have that passion today then ask yourself what purpose do you want to accomplish? What goal are you trying to achieve? What is your dream and what would it take to make that dream a reality? Picture the end result you want to create and then start planning the steps that will help you make that happen. Come up with a game plan for how you can achieve your goal and then get going on it. You will find that when you can get that picture in your head of what you want your purpose to be then the universe will start bringing the right elements into your life to help you achieve it, especially if you have passion to make it happen. Get excited. Don’t be afraid of anything. Just make it happen! And remember – PASSION IS POWER!

Con amor,

Vero

Dinner with the Collins

Thank goodness for doctors who retire and want to serve missions!

last night we  hosted a dinner for a sweet missionary couple who have been helping with the missionaries and the MTC for the past two years and are ready to go back home to their families. 

They are our doctor missionary couple. Dr. Collins and his wife. They both have extensive experience dealing with illnesses and we don't know what we would do without them. They are on call 24/7 taking care of any needs that could arise from 21 missions and the MTC and even members who might need some advice on what to do with situations were you are feeling sick. Wow, I only know that we feel so grateful for their service and people like them are the ones who encourage us and inspire us to be actively involved in a good cause. 

The Collins are a blessing for our area and we count our blessings when we get people of their caliber serve with us. After they left, I got a box of pictures to make an album of all the things I am grateful for. 

Count your many blessings

One of my favorite hymns is Count Your Blessings.

“When up on life’s billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings

Name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done…

This past weekend I was able to listen to numerous talks that were given by extraordinary men and women on a myriad of different subjects.  One of my favorites was a talk about taking inventory of the blessings that have come into our lives:

“As I have reviewed the past 57 years, I have made some discoveries. One is that countless experiences I have had were not necessarily those one would consider extraordinary. In fact, at the time they transpired, they often seemed unremarkable and even ordinary. And yet, in retrospect, they enriched and blessed lives—not the least of which was my own. I would recommend this same exercise to you—namely, that you take an inventory of your life and look specifically for the blessings, large and small, you have received.”   -Thomas S. Monson

What a great idea!  Taking an inventory of the blessings we have received in our life to date.  I got a notebook where I write all the many things I am grateful for. I need to be more consistent so I am going to find a quiet place to sit and start writing down all of the blessings that I can think of that have ever come into my life.  I am going to write them in a list, in no particular order, just listing everything that I can think of as it comes to my mind in this notebook. 

 I am going to try and start in chronological order, but if something comes to me out of the blue then I will write it down, even if it is out of order.  My goal is to literally flood the pages with the lists of blessings I can recall.  I want to capture all of them, even the smallest blessing of finding something I have lost after saying a prayer, to meeting certain people, to having certain opportunities, to the miracles that I have had come into my life. 

   My mind has already begun racing with memories even just in my planning to write it down this week.  It is amazing the things I have begun to notice were blessings when I first decided to start thinking about it. Once I finish my list with every memory I can possibly think of, I am going to keep the notebook by my bed so as new blessings happen in my life I can remember to add them to my list. I have a feeling that one day, when my life is over, this notebook will become one of my children and grandchildren’s most precious possessions.  Just think of how meaningful it would be to you to find a notebook written like this from your own grandparents or great grandparents. Just think of the impression and influence it might have on your life.

 Even more important, I have a feeling that this inventory book will become one of my own most valued possessions while I am still living.  I have a feeling that keeping this little book by my bed to look at on the difficult days that come will help me to keep things in perspective.  It will help to remind me that my life truly is blessed and that even though things may get difficult, there is still plenty to be grateful for.  And when you finish it, maybe take some of the most meaningful items from the lists and make little notecards that you can write one on each card to hang them or tape them to your mirror at home, or put them somewhere that you when viewed they can give you a pick me up to help you stay grateful and focused on all of life’s blessings.

Life truly is a blessing.  I stand in awe at the many blessings I have been given over the years:  my family, my friends, my life lessons…so much to be grateful for and so many more blessings still to come.

“A good life is when you smile often, dream big, laugh a lot and realize how blessed you are for what you have.”   -unknown

 Smile today, dream big, laugh a lot, and realize you are so blessed!  It is going to be a great day!

Quiz of Elder Hales.

Today, in Relief Society I gave a class about a talk Elder Hales gave on General Conference last April on "Becoming a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ." and because he turned 85 years old, the Deseret News had a quiz about his life. I gave that to the sisters to read and discuss to get to know a real disciple in 2017. We read of Peter, James and John in the New Testament but what about today? 

Quiz of Elder Hales

1.    What did Elder Hales’ father make for him that he still has today?
a. A painting of the Sacred Grove
b. A painting of his family
c. A wood carving of Christ

“When I was a deacon, my father took me to the Sacred Grove,” says Elder Hales. “There we prayed together and dedicated our lives. Then he talked to me of sacred things. When we got back home, my father, who worked as an artist in New York City, painted a picture of the Sacred Grove for me. I’ve always hung that picture in my office, and when I look at it, I remember my father and our talk that summer afternoon.” 

2.    What question did Elder Hales and his wife Mary take to the Lord in prayer while he was studying at Harvard university?

a. Financial needs
b. Finding time for a new calling
c. Where to live

When Elder Hales was a graduate student at Harvard University, he was called to be the president of his elders quorum. While he was willing to serve, he also remembered his professor’s advice to resist participating in outside activities due to the intensity of the courses. Elder Hales came home to his wife, Mary, and they prayed for guidance. As they did, Mary said, “I’d rather have an active priesthood holder than a man who holds a master’s degree from Harvard. We’ll do them both,”

The next day, Mary walled off a section of the unfinished basement in their apartment to create a small office for Elder Hales to concentrate on his studies so that he could also fulfill his calling. A few years later, Elder Hales was the president of a company when he was asked to serve as bishop. Ten years later he was working as corporate vice president of a large corporation and was called to be an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

“I put myself in the Lord’s hands when I made that decision,” Elder Hales said  “That decision was much harder to make than when, years later, I accepted the call to serve as an assistant to the Twelve and left my business career behind. Some people may have trouble understanding that, but I believe you really show the Lord who you are and what you are willing to become when you make those hard decisions as a young person."

 3.    What position was Elder Hales serving in when he was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve? 

a. Mission president
b. Area Seventy
c. Presiding bishop
d. Assistant to the Twelve

As an assistant to the Twelve and then as a Seventy, Elder Hales helped plan 27 area conferences for the First Presidency. “Watching prophets, seers and revelators bearing witness of the truthfulness of the gospel to the Saints in city after city was absolutely wonderful,” he said.

After three years as a general authority, Elder Hales was called as president of the England London Mission. Following that service, he was assigned as an area supervisor in Europe and worked closely with Elder Thomas S. Monson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (now president of the church), in supporting and strengthening Latter-day Saints in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary and Poland.

From 1983 to 1984, Elder Hales served as area president of the North America Southwest Area. In 1985, he was called to serve as presiding bishop and served in that calling until he was sustained as an apostle on April 2, 1994.

4.    What lesson did Elder Hales’ mother teach him by her example?

a. Missionary service
b. Importance of prayer and scripture study
c. Going to the temple regularly

“My own father and mother served a mission in England," Elder Hales said  "As I visited them one day in their small flat, I watched my mother, with a shawl wrapped snugly around her shoulders, putting shillings in the gas meter to keep warm. I asked, ‘Why did you come on a mission, Mother?’ Mother said simply, ‘Because I have 11 grandsons. I want them to know that Grandma and Grandpa served.’”

 5.    As a newly called bishop, what lesson did Elder Hales learn from Elder Harold B. Lee?

a. The importance of personal revelation
b. The importance of a ward family
c. The importance of temple preparation

“Early in my church service, Elder Harold B. Lee taught this lesson when he came to organize a new stake in the district where we were living," Elder Hales said  "Elder Lee asked me, as a newly sustained bishop, if I would join him at a press conference. There, an intense young reporter challenged Elder Lee. He said to him, ‘You call yourself a prophet. When was the last time you had revelation, and what was it about?’ Elder Lee paused, looked directly at him, and responded in a sweet way, ‘It was yesterday afternoon about three o’clock. We were praying about who should be called as the president of the new stake, and it was made known to us who that individual should be.’ The reporter’s heart changed. I will never forget the Spirit that came into that room as Elder Lee bore his powerful witness of revelation that can be received by those faithfully seeking to do the Lord’s will.”

6.    What lesson did Elder Hales learn as a young boy when he was asked to paint his father’s floor?

a. Service
b. Teamwork
c. Agency

“In my youth I learned an important lesson about how our actions may limit our freedom," Elder Hales said: "One day my father assigned me to varnish a wooden floor. I made the choice to begin at the door and work my way into the room. When I was almost finished, I realized I had left myself no way to get out. There was no window or door on the other side. I had literally painted myself into a corner. I had no place to go. I was stuck.

"Whenever we disobey, we spiritually paint ourselves into a corner and are captive to our choices. Though we are spiritually stuck, there is always a way back. Like repentance, turning around and walking across a newly varnished floor means more work — a lot of re sanding and refinishing! Returning to the Lord isn’t easy, but it is worth it.”

 7.    What lesson did Elder Hales learn from the poor choices of a friend while training to be a jet fighter pilot?

a. Preparation and obedience
b. Courage
c. Honesty

“While training to be a jet fighter pilot, I prepared to make such vital decisions in a flight simulator," Elder Hales said:  "For example, I practiced deciding when to bail out of an airplane if the fire warning light came on and I began to spin out of control. I remember one dear friend who didn’t make these preparations. He would find a way out of simulator training and then go to play golf or swim. He never learned his emergency procedures! A few months later, fire erupted in his plane, and it spun toward the ground in flames. Noting the fire warning light, his younger companion, having developed a preconditioned response, knew when to bail out of the plane and parachuted to safety. But my friend who had not prepared to make that decision stayed with the plane and died in the crash.”

8.    What did Elder Hales want to buy his wife for their anniversary, but she instead taught him a lesson on provident living?

a. A fancy coat
b. A new dress
c. A gold necklace

“Our wedding anniversary was approaching, and I wanted to buy Mary a fancy coat to show my love and appreciation for our many happy years together," Elder Hales said: "When I asked what she thought of the coat I had in mind, she replied with words that again penetrated my heart and mind. ‘Where would I wear it?’ she asked. (At the time she was a ward Relief Society president helping to minister to needy families.)

“Then she taught me an unforgettable lesson. She looked me in the eyes and sweetly asked, ‘Are you buying this for me or for you?’ In other words, she was asking, ‘Is the purpose of this gift to show your love for me or to show me that you are a good provider or to prove something to the world?’ I pondered her question and realized I was thinking less about her and our family and more about me.

“After that we had a serious, life-changing discussion about provident living, and both of us agreed that our money would be better spent in paying down our home mortgage and adding to our children’s education fund.”

It was so fun to get to know him this way. I show them a video of his talk and had a quick discussion about what it means to be a disciple? And for starters he said: A disciple is one who has been baptized and is willing to take upon him or her the name of the Savior and follow him. A disciple strives to become as He is by keeping HIs commandments in mortality much the same way as an apprentice seeks to become like his or her master. 

Many people hear the word disciple and think it means only "follower." but genuine discipleship is a state of being. This suggests more than studying and applying a list of individual attributes. Disciples live so the characteristics of Christ are woven into the fiber of their beings, as into a spiritual tapestry...

... In 2 Peter and in Doctrine and Covenants section 4 we learn that faith is the foundation. We measure our faith by what it leads us to do. By our obedience. " If ye will have faith in me, " The Lord promised, "ye shall have the power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." Add to your faith add virtue and to your virtue add knowledge... By our virtuous living, we make the journey from "I believe" to the glorious destination of "I know" Add to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience so that when we are face with storms of tribulations we ask " what wouldst thou have me learn from this experience? This patience leads to godliness... 

... From temperance to patient and from patience to godliness our natures change. We gain the brotherly kindness that is a hallmark of all true disciples like the good samaritan." The efforts we make to become disciples of our Savior are truly added upon until we are possessed of His love. This love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ. It is faith, hope and charity that qualify us for the work of God...but the greatest of these is charity." 

The million -dollar question is " What am I doing to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ"? 

Con amor,

Vero