Gosh, we love our ward family. They are so welcoming to us and we’re getting to know the members more and more each time we attend. Today the talks given in Sacramento meeting were about prayer. The couple that spoke were the Stoddards. They are new to the ward and have the cutest little girl with another on the way in five weeks. Both Brother and Sister Stoddard gave some good thoughts about the power of prayer and how we can use it and how it can affect our lives. We are all born with gifts and talents that the Lord expects us to use wisely. He knows the potential we have in this life to succeed. If you don’t pray, you will never realize that potential. ‘You will always be what you have always been’. The guidance we receive from Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost in our lives is invaluable. He knows what we can do and He will teach us. We all want blessings to help us through this life. We can obtain them through the power of prayer and the invitation to prayer is open to all of us.
In Relief Society we had a lesson on the gift of the Holy Ghost. We all can have guidance from the Holy Ghost, but he will not be with us always unless we are baptized. And, even after we are baptized, if we stop following the commandments and live life to our own satisfaction, then he will not be there to help us. The sister that gave the opening prayer in Relief Society today told us that “if we don’t realize the blessings we are receiving, then we need to be smacked upside the head.” It was all I could do not to laugh out loud. That is so true and she was dead serious! NOTE: When we pray to Heavenly Father we should be reverent and use the words thee, thou, thine, etc. We should always have respect in our prayers and reverence. But, I gotta say, that once in a while a ‘good smack in the head is not a bad idea’. I’m sure Heavenly Father feels that way sometimes.
After church every so often our ward has an activity called”linger longer” and members of the ward bring something from home to eat and share with others. Someone brought about 100 Twinkies, some salads, and all kinds of good stuff. I (Elder Boehrer) brought some of my homemade chili and they ate it all up, not even enough for a chili dog. This activity gives the members a chance to get to know each other better, I love it.
This afternoon after church I made some pan chocolate chip cookies. It reminded of when our children were teenagers, and on Sunday we used to bake cookies. Mike and Danny were the best cookie makers in the country. Unbelievable. We never let David touch anything to do with cooking, yep, not even boiling water. But one time he made some pan cookies that turned out pretty good. Pan cookies are cookies that are spread out on the pan and not dropped in a ball. You have to cook the dough longer, but not too long. Of course, David, love that boy, cooked them so long one time, that we used them for hockey pucks (well, not really, but they were HARD). We had a good time. Our children enjoyed their Sunday afternoons and they even got used to not playing with the kids in the neighborhood on Sunday. They did things together as brothers and sister. Yep, at times I am sure they would rather go out front and play or go to the pool, but we played running up and down the stair games, baking, etc. NOTE: We believe in keeping the sabbath day holy, which means it is a day of rest. It is a family day of togetherness and attending your church meetings. Our church is very involved with family activites and family togetherness. That is one of the many things that Elder Boehrer and I wanted for our family. Now, honestly, we did not always honor the Sabbath the way we should, but life is a growing experience and you do the best you can. You just keep trying and endure to the end.
Hope they taste better than this looks . . .
