Reverse Whirlygig

The Lord made it clear at the very start of this last dispensation that we were to take the gospel to all the world. What He said to the few priesthood holders in 1831 He says to the many now. Whatever our age, capacity, Church calling, or location, we are as one called to the work to help Him in His harvest of souls until He comes again. He said to those first laborers in the vineyard: “And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment, that every man, both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, go to with his might, with the labor of his hands, to prepare and accomplish the things which I have commanded. And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in meekness. And go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” – Henry B. Eyring

Another Way

Swim diapers are a relatively new phenomenon. If they existed when my kids were kids, they weren’t on my radar. I once saw a documentary about their development. It involved hours of testing with 20-gallon fish tanks, human babies, and purple-dyed cooked oatmeal. The oatmeal simulated the normal contents of a diaper and the dye made leaks easier to detect. The whole idea behind the invention is “what happens in the diaper stays in the diaper.” They’re not the least bit absorbent. If they were, you wouldn’t be able to lift your baby out of the pool. But urine is sterile and easily handled by pool chemicals and filters. Solid waste; not so much. I learned something new about swim diapers last week: they’re reusable. If they haven’t been pooped in, you can wash them in the delicate cycle, air dry them, and slap them back on. That’s big news, especially when you consider what they cost.

Five-Patch Flying Geese

Irena Sendler (1910 – 2008) was a social worker and nurse who served in the Polish Underground during World War II. When Germany invaded Poland she got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto as a plumber. She used her large toolbox and truck to smuggle some 2,500 Jewish infants and children to safety. The Nazis discovered her activities, tortured her, and sentenced her to death. She managed to evade execution. She kept the children’s names in a jar buried in her yard so she could reunite them with their parents after the war. Of course, most of the parents didn’t survive. A year before her death, Irena was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. She didn’t win. That year Al Gore received the award for a slide show on global warming. She didn’t expect a reward, saying, "Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory."  

Greek Cross

Piña Colada Pull-Aparts

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup coconut milk, divided

2 cans Pillsbury Grands!

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 can canned crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup chopped dried pineapple

Heat oven to 350F. Coat 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Melt butter and 1/3 cup coconut milk; stirring until smooth. Set aside. Cut each biscuit into fourths. Carefully dip each biscuit piece into butter mixture, then roll in sugar and place in prepared pan. Cover bottom of pan with 20 biscuit pieces, then sprinkle half the crushed pineapple over the top. Top pineapple with 20 more dipped and rolled biscuits, then sprinkle the rest of the pineapple on top. Top pineapple with remaining dipped and rolled biscuits. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Carefully invert onto a plate. Whisk powdered sugar and remaining coconut milk until smooth. Top pull-aparts with coconut glaze and dried pineapple.

Frances Willard

Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (1839 to 1898) was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. She fought for free school lunches, an eight-hour work day, and to protect children from abuse. Here are a few quotes attributed to her: “Temperance is moderation in the things that are good and total abstinence from the things that are foul.” “This seems to be the law of progress in everything we do; it moves along a spiral rather than a perpendicular; we seem to be actually going out of the way, and yet it turns out that we were really moving upward all the time.” “The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.” And my personal favorite: “In externals we advance with lightening express speed, in modes of thought and sympathy we lumber on in stage-coach fashion.”

Five-Patch Shoo-Fly

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on very rare occasions convenes disciplinary councils. Their purpose is three-fold: to save the soul of someone who has seriously transgressed, to protect the innocent, and to safeguard the Church’s purity, integrity, and good name. Excommunication is the most severe judgment a disciplinary council can take. Excommunicated persons are no longer members of the church. Their participation in church activities is limited, but they are encouraged to continue attending church meetings and to prayerfully study the scriptures. Church disciplinary action is not intended to be the end of the process. Instead it is designed to be the beginning of an opportunity to repent and to return to full fellowship and to the full blessings of the church. “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” - Doctrine and Covenants 58:42