There and Back Again: Week 33 Happy Father's Day!

This is my dad in his prime. A few years later he had an accident. In his own words he says, "Between 33,000 and 57,000 volts, depending on which newspaper you read, went from the lines, through the machine, and arced to me, as I stepped over the outrigger and grounded in a concrete wall. I did not lose conscious, but I wish I had. At first, I thought I was in an explosion, but it kept going and I felt a hammering in every cell of my body. I couldn’t figure out what was happening. I tasted copper on the sides of my tongue and saw bright blue-white flashes reflecting off everything, like arc welding. I smelled burnt flesh and hair. It held me in the air for several seconds, spinning awkwardly, with sparks flying from my body. A first powerline gave way, and the boom continued upward and made contact with a second line. Another jolt hit me. This time it threw me about 10 feet, and out of the electrical field. "

He was in the hospital for a year and told he would never walk nor have children. They had to take the skin off his back and put it on his legs to re cover the muscle and bone. CRAZY. He was given a priesthood blessing while he lay sizzled in the gravel. I am the oldest of his 8 children.

He transferred from Linfield Baptist College to Brigham Young University and met my lovely mother.

And we started rolling down from heaven. LOL My dad is far from perfect...does that even have to be said? My dad is a fantastic example of a disciple of Jesus Christ. He LOVES the Lord and desires to bring all people unto him. His whole life has been a mission since that "shocking" event. I am grateful for his example of perseverance in adversity, trust in the Lord, and making all of us kids feel like we are capable and needed. He never genderized chores, I weilded power tools just like my brothers, they did dishes and helped "feed the baby" just like the girls. Dad was a natural teacher and friend. He also continues to live even in PAIN! At Christmas he fell and snapped his spine in half and had to have his spine screwed back together so it could heal.

No matter how much pain he is in, he keeps doing fun things, showing up for birthdays, baptisms, weddings, showers, mission farewells, mission homecomings. He, right there with mom,is always loving us.

I am grateful that my dad took his abusive childhood, turned to Christ and became a better man, a better dad than he had. I am grateful for his imperfect examples and his perfect ones. I am grateful for my HEAVENLY Father who sent my Older Brother, Jesus Christ to make it possible for all of us to come home to Heavenly Father and Mother where we can be families forever. Happy Father's Day!

CHEMISTRY and HOMESCHOOLING!

Homeschooling is HUGE out here. I mentioned to one of our historians that I homeschooled my kids and that I used to be a chemist. She asked if she could share my info with her group. Last week I had the extreme pleasure of teaching over 30 kids ages 5 to 18 the joys of Acid/Base indicators. Sharing our gifts, talents, and knowledge is how we serve Christ. In the book of Mormon, King Benjamin tells us that when we are in the service of our fellow beings we are only in the service of our God. Jesus said, "If you've done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." I was grateful and delighted to have the opportunity and hope I get invited back!

The Helmet of Salvation.

I went to my first THRESHERS faire in a place called Denmark, IA. It was mostly tractors, cute little tractor rides, cool old cars, Amish baked goods, wonderful crafts...and then a random Ren Faire booth with cool things like this helmet! LOL I had to buy it. I could not, not buy it. It was the "Helmet of Salvation" talked about in the New Testament. Ephesians 6:17 instructs us to put on the whole armor of God and to “take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.” When a soldier suited up for battle, the helmet was the last piece of armor to go on. It was the final act of readiness in preparation for combat. A helmet was vital for survival, protecting the brain, the command station for the rest of the body. If the head was badly damaged, the rest of the armor would be of little use. KNOWING you are a literal spirit child of God can do much against Satan's attacks on our thinking. Knowing that you don't have to be perfect or flawless because Jesus Christ suffered His attoning sacrifice so we can all be healed and saved if we choose Him, can ward off many mental blows of the adversary. The helmet of salvation protects our minds from deception because we have God's WORD, and God's prophets to help us KNOW Truth.

Elder Cullen didn't even contest the purchase. He thought it was cool too. LOL His happy surprise at the faire was finding tractors that reminded him of his days on Uncle Les's farm in Coram, New York!

There and Back Again: Week 32 Bye Bye Love! Bye Bye McConeghey Family!!!

Tomorrow my daughter, Autumn and her sweet husband, Aaron, and kids (Emmet and Taran) will be moving to Tennessee. Heavenly Father has been SO kind to give us this 6 month overlap so we can enjoy each other and strengthen our relationships and be so close (just a 2 hour drive!). We came up to help them pack, but they were pretty much super organized and just needed us to keep the boys busy. We will MISS them immensley!

As I played with the boys at the park I was soaking up every minute of pushing on the swings, throwing the ball, climbing, oooing and ahhing at their skills. I was also thinking, they are never going to remember this time,they are too young, but I hope they remember that we love them very very much!

Then I thought of our "Earth Life School". We ALSO do not remember moments of sitting on Heavenly Father's knee while he sang to us or working in a flower garden with Heavenly Mother or doing whatever we did up there. We have a veil over our minds for this blind test, BUT I do know that they love us very much. THAT fact has carried me through a lot. Just as we are relegated to video chat and phone with McConegheys again, we are still able to talk through prayer and our spiritual experiences with Heavenly Father. So the time spent loving each other is not for nothing. This small contact reminds us, we are loved.

We drove home from Iowa City and got back in time to attend a missionary fireside in Nauvoo about God's Plan of Happiness. Specifically how Zion fits into the great plan. It was WONDERFUL! Basically since the Fall of Adam and Eve, we have been separated from God (he's the glowing creation figure we're the gray figure). Jesus Christ provided the way to repent and be sanctified by his Atonement which will bring us back into God's presence. Establishing Zion will help us learn how to live in Heaven! One heart, one mind, no poor among them, everyone doing their best, everyone caring about each other. Not all the same,(look around at all the diversity of beauty and skill in God's creations...God is diverse) but all with the same intent...to be like Christ in thought and behavior. When we've learned that, we will be sanctified and able to withstand the presence of God again.

In OTHER news, last week we survived our first Tornado. We were driving from Carthage to Nauvoo for a choir rehearsal (I am accompanying the choir) and our phones and car went LOUDLY on Alert, "WARNING!!! Tornado is heading your way, go immediately to shelter. If you are in your car, get out and lay face down in a ditch!" It was raining hard and the wind was blowing, but it didn't seem dangerous. Elder Cullen said, "We're ten minutes away, let's get to the visitor's center where we can shelter in the basement. That sounded better than a ditch to me. I floored it and we got there in 5 minutes. By that time the wind was blowing SIDEWAYS and people from all over were running to the Visitor's Center, drenched and excited and scared. Down in the basement were guests, senior missionaries, and a bunch of young performing missionaries. That was a party...piano, guitar, ukele, card games, singing in glorious harmonies, the perfect place to wait out a storm. No one I know of got hurt. Many trees down, LOTS of clean up. It made me think again of life. There are dangerous storms in all of our lives that can physically and spiritually and emotionally harm us...lethally. HOWEVER we can shelter in Christ together...all ages, all ablilites, all walks of life and it can still be a party. Next time I shelter I'm bringing pizza! LOL I know God could have provided that too. tee hee Great Quote:" ‘I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.’ (Doc. and Cov. 82:10.) He operates by law and not by arbitrariness or caprice.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1930, p. 96.) Everyone is capable of all the promised blessings. Just follow the rules. Have a great week! Check your 72 hour kits.

There and Back Again: Week 31 House of the Risen Son

GREAT NEWS!!! My back stopped hurting last Sunday. After two weeks it was such a delight to get out of bed and not be in pain!!!!! Thank you for all your prayers. So because I was well, we rearraged the house and made this room our COUNCIL ROOM. Where we could council together in love and righteousness and make maps of our Carthage site, list our duties, mow schedules, blow schedules, etc.

OK, I'm not going to lie...it was our goal, but it started out rough. We were frustrated with each other, contentious, and had to go back to our corners...literally different rooms and breath, humble ourselves, pray for help and come back. THEN it got better, then it got GOOD! As a result...we were organized, had a plan, and called it our first experiment. We will reconvene this Sunday and talk about what worked, what great ideas we had while working and what needed further pondering and review.

Because we followed our "first experiment plan", things went OK. Like having time to paint weathered and cracked wood on the visitor's center. Last Friday was the FIRST day since we moved here that we didn't feel chaotic and worried about all we had to do, all we had been doing, and what did we not know about that we should be doing! We have 4 or 5 different "bosses" here because we have so many responsibilites. They have all been extremely kind, calm, compassionate, humorous, forgiving, and supportive. Immensly supportive.

While cleaning bricks of bird poop, I thought to myself. WHY are we doing this when literally the birds are pooping behind us as we clean?! Then I thought about my life and why I need daily repentance. If we just cleaned the bricks once a week, or once a month it would look SOO bad and be so much harder to clean. Cleaning it daily keeps it looking great for a longer period of time. Additional repetitive big splats are taken care of by us or the site missionaries when they are seen. It's like when I get contentious...big splat...stop and repent...clean that up right away. Eventually, unlike the bird poop, it's going to stop. LOL

One of the BEST blessings this past week was being asked to help provide lunch for a visiting general authority! Elder Kyle McKay and his wife, and the mission president Daniel Mehr III, and his wife. Sister Workman was in charge and we had so much fun making delicious food and presenting it nicely. OF course our husbands were right there beside us making it awesome.

Elder McKay and his wife were so fun, funny, and deeply spiritual and loving. I loved everything he had to say. This one line stayed with me. He said that with any church calling including being a general authority, that when he is doing it he feels both incapable and strongly confident. He knows that if he's doing what the Lord wants, even if he's never done it before he's going to get good at it because God will help him. I LOVED that. I have experienced it myself.

Last night at the missionary Welcome/Farewell Dinner some of my friends and I performed a song that I wrote the lyrics for to the tune of House of the Rising Sun...one of my favorite tunes. Elder Cullen ran the slide show for us. You can see it at the link below It was very well received and we got great compliments from it. So until next week...continue to repent daily, be creative, try new things in the confidence of God. I love you. Alma 60:25,26 25 -I will leave the strength and the blessings of God upon them, that none other power can operate against them— 26 And this because of their exceeding faith, and their patience in their tribulations. I love these verses because it shows that we don't have to be perfect to receive blessings and strength from God. We just need to have faith in Jesus Christ and strive everyday to be better, and more like Him.

There and Back Again: Week 30 And a Little Child Shall Lead them.

In the New Testament Christ said, "Do as you see me do." In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin told his people, "When you are in the service of your fellow beings you are only in the service of your God." He was teaching his people to not boast in the works or service that they do, nor expect anything in return because everything we do is for Jesus Christ, The Messiah, our Lord and Savior. If I tie your shoe for you because your back hurts and you can't reach it, I hope you know that I love you. More importantly, I hope you know that I love Jesus and that HE loves you and wants you to be served, so I serve you whether you like me or not, or whether I agree with you or not, because it's not about us, it's about the Savior. FUNNY thing, when you put God first in your thoughts and actions, He immediately blesses you so it's all a festival of goodness. This past week, Spring and her family were here with us the entire week. Caluna, their 2 year old, was so eager to serve me and work with me. It made me feel loved and our relationship deepened. We had so many fun moments working, singing, telling stories and such.

I thought to myself..."Caluna is 2, her 'work' isn't really anything I couldn't do for myself, in fact I can do it better and faster BUT it was her best effort and it increased our relationship and our love for each other grew because of it. This reminds me of me and Jesus. Anything I do to help you, my family, or my community, God could totally do better, faster, and perfectly. But that's not the point. As I practice serving like Him I am becoming like Him. Just as Caluna works beside me and does her best, she becomes like me, a good worker." I am a child serving my Father in Heaven and Jesus, I may run out of energy before They do, I may be distracted by bugs and birds in my life, I may not be as strong and fast as They are, but I am encouraged and warmed and delighted by working along side Them by serving others. I like being in Their company and helping Them to do Their work which is to bring to pass the imortality and eternal life of man. I feel their love and you can too! If you need more chances to help others go to JustServe.org to find opportunities in your local area.

After 9 glorious days, we took the Bufords back to the airport to fly home. Thanks for all the help and all the love and all the lessons Spring, Calen, Caluna, and Lillian!

There and Back Again: Week 29 FAMILY FROLIC GALORE!!!

OH MY GOODNESS, THIS WEEK! FULL OF MOVING, A BAD BACK, and a GREAT FAMILY VISIT! The Happiest thing I have ever done was be a mother. This week I was super grateful that my children loved their brother in law, Aaron so much that they all came out to celebrate his graduation from medical school... ALL four of my kids and their kids and spouses. But then sadly, Aaron had to attend an emergency funeral of his best friend in Missouri! So we were there and he was not! We will be cutting and pasting him into our family photo!! He is doing OK.

That same week we had moved to Carthage. So Thursday we upacked our last box, I made four loaves of bread, and Friday we went up to Iowa City, then everyone came home with us to Carthage Friday night except Autumn and Aaron who left early Saturday morning for Greece. We took their boys home to be with cousins.

Due to the new chores of taking care of carthage, my lower back went out with the weeding and push mowering...so while it heals, I'm consigned to scrubbing the bird dung off the paver bricks with a wet broom, cleaning the statues and monuments sweeping the parking lot, picking up sticks with the "picker upper thingys" and driving the tractor mower while Elder Cullen works the mower, weed whacker, and blower. It's a big big job.

The grand kids helped! And shouted and cheered Grandpa as he drove back and forth mowing the lawns across the parking lot. I just have to share some of the peaceful, joyful times we had. It's such a miracle that on this mission we are seeing our children more than we do at home! It's truly an unexpected miracle.

OK you made it this far...if you know my kids these pictures will delight you, if you don't, I hope they still delight you. I will leave you with these two thoughts. Marriage is ordained of God, and when both partners keep their covenants it can truly be wonderful, even with all the irritations and learning experiences. ALSO a quote from Gerrit W. Gong (Apostle) "You may wonder if your Heavenly Father loves you. The answer is a resounding, absolute yes!"