Get Moving!

I heard this poem a couple years ago...even used it in one of my own talks a while back. Some lessons on Sunday reminded me of it:

One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then some strange prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,"
But Lord, they are too big for feet."

"My child," He said in somber tones,"
For miles I carried you along.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."

"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt."

"Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."

-- author unknown

Book Thoughts, Part II

"Everybody has a story. It's like families. You  might now know who they are, might have lost them, but they exist all the same. You might drift apart or you might turn your back on them, but you can't say you haven't got them. Same goes for stories."

--The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Retain This!!

Yesterday I went with some other members of my ward and worked at Habitat for Humanity site. Our group worked on framing two houses, building a walking trail around the neighborhood, and building the best looking retaining wall of 2008! My friend Hilary and I worked on the retaining wall. I didn't take any "before" pictures, but you can kind of see where the "dirty" rocks are. That was what was already there. We first threw all those rocks into the pit then arranged them so they didn't block the drainage pipes and so they looked pretty. Then we started arranging the 60lb cinder blocks around the edges. Most of the cinder blocks were already done, but we had to arrange a few more. With each one we had to make sure the ground was level, fill them with gravel, and then put the other ones on top. Then we did all the grading so that the earth around the retaining wall was even. The dirt in the picture looks nice and pretty, but don't be fooled...it's hardcore Carolina Clay and very wet and difficult to shovel! A special thanks to the three gentlemen who hauled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of dirt for us to use. Thanks to Hunter, our fearless Habitat leader. Hilary and I (and latecomer Cayce) laid all by ourselves a few of those really heavy blocks, leveled them, and made them look pretty. We are super proud of our work and crazy sore today, but it was worth it! Watch out Retaining Wall Builders of America...you have some contenders!

Magic

Today at school a teacher was trying to fix a printer while a few of her first graders stood nearby and watched. She fiddled with things and, with a wave of her hand and an "Abracadabra", stepped back. The printer started printing out the pictures the first graders needed. One of the students said very matter-of-factly, "you worked magic." Then with big brown eyes and with the air of a sigh little Tiffany replies, "There's magic all around us." 

I about choked trying not to laugh (this student is a bit of a drama queen) but I had to admit she was right...

Wisdom to Live By

When fretted by this single life which seems to be my lot...I think of all the many men whose wife I'm glad I'm not!