People are Great!

Everyone is important to someone. Even the person who says, "I'm not important to anyone" is wrong; they're important to someone. Isn't it great that we're all loved?! I'm happy to know that someone cares about me - it makes my day.

These quotes give me something to think about:

• Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. Danny Kaye
  
• If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  
• Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much. Oscar Wilde
• People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou
• Change your thoughts and you change your world. Norman Vincent Peale
  
• Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself - and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to - letting a person be what he really is. Jim Morrison

People are awesome and I love them.

My Reflection of the 23rd Psalm

Yesterday at church, in Sunday School we focused on the Psalms. The teacher talked about the 23rd Psalm and since it's my favorite, and I like to look deeply at things, I take it a step further:

To me, this Psalm has three parts: 1) v. 1-3-Declaring who he trusts. (It reminds me of the Psalm of Nephi [2 Nephi 4:17-35] where Nephi says I know in whom I have trusted [2 Nephi 4:19].) David talks about how the Lord restored his soul. 2) v. 4-5-The Lord comforts him through trials. It's interesting that he says 'the Lord' but in trials he says 'Thou' - when not facing a trial he can handle life and the Lord steps back (the Lord) but during a trial it gets personal and the Lord gets close-he's right there (Thou) until he can handle life again, then once more the Lord steps back (the Lord). 3) v. 6-Again, declaring who he trusts.

David put his trust in the Lord. He messed up with Bathsheba and indicated how the Lord comforted him in his trial. Once again he declared that he put his trust in the Lord.

The Lord is merciful to us even when we make mistakes. He doesn't leave us when we do wrong but stays with us, comforts us and encourages us to do better-he is our forever friend (I think His love makes us want to repent and try again to do the correct thing). David putting his trust in the Lord at all times inspires me and increases my faith to do the same.

The 23rd Psalm
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

I Love My Friends!

Friends are the best! I love this statement: 'A friend knows how you are and loves you just the same'. In thinking about my friends, I know that statement is definitely true. I'm a girl who says many words - some might call me a babbling brook. To continue the water analogy my husband is a still lake - he says things in few words. Thankfully, two things have saved me (and him): 1-my journal and 2-my friends.

My journal allows me to "talk" as much as I want and never gets tired of hearing my thoughts. I can write as much as I want and like a pet who just listens it never says anything. That's where my friends come in. As well as being completely myself around them, they listen to me and then we discuss. I love discussions where we all say what we think and sometimes they expand my mind! Again, I'll say it, "Friends are the best!"

(About me: I've always been a deep thinker, as well as one who contemplates and is philosophical. I think about topics and always have something to say when the topic is discussed.)

Regarding friends, this poem is in my High School scrapbook from 30 years ago and at 45 years old I still find this true:

Friendship

Are new friends who are worthy of friendship, to be preferred over old friends? The question is unworthy of a human being, for there should be no surfeit of friendships as there are other things; and, as in the case of wines that improve with age, the oldest friendships ought to be the most delightful; moreover, the well known adage is true: “Men must eat many a peck of salt together before the claims of friendship are fulfilled.”

~Cicero, De Amicita

A Friend, Is a Friend, Is a Friend

True friends don't abandon, that's natural man thinking. It feels easier to leave when it's unsavory or when things get hard, but to me that's when a friend stays.

I think of the Bible story where the Pharisees (the supposedly righteous people) asked Jesus why he hung out with Publicans (a lower class than Jesus.) They said it would ruin his reputation, but Jesus basically said 'I hang out with people who need me'.

It also reminds me of the story about the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to find the one lost sheep. That lost sheep needed his shepherd to find him because he was lost. The 99 sheep were fine but the one sheep wasn't. How kind and loving for that shepherd to go find the lost one instead of thinking Oh well, I have 99 sheep, who cares if one is lost.

I want to emulate the good shepherd who always cares about the one. Relating the story to people, everyone is a life, a person. (Every human being is God's child and they all matter to Him.) Each person deserves true friendship and it's my desire to be as good of a friend as I can. In the words of my favorite business philosopher, Jim Rohn, "How long should you stay? Until."

I'll Be a Friend

I've heard successful people say, "Choose your friends wisely." It's true that some people can bring you down, can curb your ambition or courage, and can squash or make fun of your dreams.

But I feel torn because I want success and yet I consider 'everyone' my friend. I might not listen to or believe some things, but I have hope in good outcomes. (Someone hopes for me and I follow that example.) I don't want to judge or stop being friends, but want to encourage my friends to reach further.

I believe in success. But I won't consider myself a success if I become successful by cutting off ties; on the contrary, I'll feel selfish and mean. I may protect myself from unsavory words or actions, but I'll be kind. I won't shun but embrace and have faith in everyone's ability to choose good things. I'll be a friend.

Daring to be Different

When I was younger I wanted nothing more than to be like everyone else. I didn't want to stand out but wanted to fit in. I remember crying in first grade when I asked my mom if I had to have the name 'Jade' in heaven and she said yes. I wanted my name to be common and printed on a pencil. In high school I remember hearing "Dare to stand alone". The leaders where I lived often spoke about daring to be a diamond in the rough and being one who stood out...they had a point. The one who stands out makes more of an impact than the one in a crowd of alike people.

This picture says it all.

I have the opportunity to possibly influence someone's life for the better if I'll just have the resolve to stand up for my beliefs. So many people need a friend. I say to myself, "Why not be that friend?"

Another Great Poem

A Time to Talk

By Robert Frost

When a friend calls to me from the road

And slows his horse to a meaning walk,

I do not stand still and look around

On all the hills I haven't hoed,

And shout from where I am, What is it?

No, not as there is a time to talk.

I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,

Blade-end up and five feet tall,

And plod: I go up to the stone wall

For a friendly visit.

This picture by Susan Wheeler seems to fit the poem so well:

To me, there's nothing better than a friend; especially one who will stop what they're doing and talk to me. I try not to interrupt them but when I do and they give me regard, their action says volumes and makes me feel special. I love people. I consider everyone my friend - whether or not we have differences. I'm thankful to have friends who travel the journey of life with me so I'm not alone.

I Love the Visiting Teaching Program in My Church

My visiting teaching companion and I just finished visiting our last sister (for August) yesterday. Yay us! High five! I love visiting teaching! (We don't usually go this late in the month, but this month all of our schedules worked out that way.) Yes, it's a chore to go, to work around schedules, and to walk up many stairs (my personal mountain :) But I love knowing them and hearing about their lives. I love that I have the opportunity to watch over them. I love that I get the chance to serve them. They bring richness to my life, and I'm glad that we're friends. My companion encourages me to bravely do things that, otherwise, I wouldn't. She tells me about her life and her family, and she is my friend. (We would help our sisters if they needed it, and I know that she would help me. I would do the same for her, and I hope she knows that she can count on me.)

My visiting teacher is a sweet lady. She comes over every month and not only visits but also helps me with whatever I need. She says, "I know that I don't have to, but I want to." I love that she visits me even though her companion never comes. She doesn't let that stop her, and I feel her love for me.

Funny story: she can't hear very well (she has hearing aids,) and I can't talk very well! (We are like the blind leading the blind!) Last month, sadly, she lost one of her hearing aids - so when she visited me she really couldn't hear what I said. After me saying the same thing four times and her not understanding me I said, "I'm done!" I meant I'm done saying the same thing, and I feel frustrated so I'm going to stop saying this. Well, she thought I meant I'm done with our visit. She said a quick prayer, apologized, and quickly left. My husband poked his head around the corner from the kitchen upstairs and said, "That was weird!" 

My poor visiting teacher! I should have called her and set the record straight, but I didn't. For a month she probably thought that I had wanted her to leave. I talked to her at church last Sunday and she said, "If my hearing bothers you, they can get you someone else...it won't hurt my feelings...really." I told her what I had meant, and that I didn't want a new visiting teacher. She came over yesterday, and happily the past is now in the past.

I love that the women in my church watch over each other. I know that no matter where I live in the world, when I tell my church that I'm there a visiting teacher will visit me. I don't want to be an island - alone in the world, I want to have friends and relate with people.

Roots

I moved 35 times by the time I was 18 so I don't have what you would call childhood "roots". I usually started and finished a school year in two different schools and didn't have the same friends for very long. I'm okay with it now (even though I would cry as a child).

I have lived in Olathe for 15 years so I have roots as an adult, but the thought of childhood "roots" has recently come to mind as I see the discussions on FaceBook. Within the last six months, people I went to high school with are now on FaceBook and they are all sending each other (and me) friend requests. Now, some are posting pictures of school days and identifying each other and saying things like "who was our 1st grade teacher?"

I think all this is great, it's just that I can't contribute because my roots with them are from high school. I didn't go to elementary or junior high school, or church with them when I was a kid. We didn't grow up together. I'm not sad, I am just quiet. In the background, watching everyone's conversations back and forth. Kind of like when I was in high school...in the background...no roots.

This also reminds me of another friend who has recently posted some pics from university days. She has all these memories and experiences, and I can't relate because I never went to a university. It makes me think how fortunate my son is to be at a university making those memories and having experiences. Because I bet he will talk about it when he's 40 like me.

It makes me think of how important it is to have roots in life.