Half a Dozen Aloes

 

“Our Savior was willing to suffer the pain of His Atonement because He loves you. In fact, you’re ‘the joy that was set before him’ while He suffered. The invitation to repent is an expression of God’s love. Saying yes to that invitation is an expression of ours. Picture your favorite image of Christ. Now imagine Him smiling brightly with joy each time you use His gift, because He is the perfect brightness of hope. Your repentance doesn’t burden Jesus Christ; it brightens His joy! Let’s teach that! We don’t stay on the covenant path by never making a mistake. We stay on the path by repenting every day. When we’re repenting, God forgives without shaming us, comparing us to anyone else, or scolding us because this is the same thing we were repenting of last week. He’s excited every time He sees us on our knees. He delights to forgive us because to Him we are delightful!” – Tamara W. Runia

Sawtooth Star

 

Today is Read a Book Day. It’s a great day to start a new novel. If longer tomes are intimidating, here’s a list of great reads with fewer than 200 pages:

Animal Farm – George Orwell

Call of the Wild – Jack London

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

Childhood's End – Arthur C. Clarke

Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson

Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

Five People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom

The Giver – Lois Lowry

Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis

The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury

Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde

The Time Machine – H.G. Wells

Turn of the Screw – Henry James

Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula K. Le Guin

Books take us to places we can reach in no other way. Open a book and get away today.

2025 Utah State Fair Quilt Challenge

 

September 2006, we were enjoying the quilt displays at the state fair and noticed a couple of ladies drumming up interest for a quilt challenge. It was way out of my league. I’d pieced a few quilt tops, but never quilted or bound one by myself. And I’d certainly never designed my own quilt. A year later, I submitted the first wall hanging I’d made on my own, start to finish. It was small and lumpy, with a wonky binding. But I’d hand-embroidered an original poem on the borders. My first entry didn’t win a blue ribbon, but I was hooked. I’ve participated in the challenge every year since then. I can’t always guess what the judges will like, and I don’t always get a blue ribbon. But that’s not why I do this. I’m here to challenge myself. When I look at that first quilt and compare it to what I’m doing now, I know it’s working.

Twenty-One Potted Cacti

 

When I became a mom, I gave up working at Burger King. It was no great loss, believe me. But I did miss what little income I had. John was working to support us at the same time he was earning his degree, so it felt good to add what I could to the family budget. While caring for my newborn, I managed a complex with three dozen apartments, and I delivered newspapers. Later, when my oldest was old enough for his own paper route, I helped with stuffing, folding and bagging, and in bad weather I drove his route in my car. It was A LOT less than minimum wage, but it was something we could do together before school. Back then, at least half the neighborhood were subscribers (including two who wrote for the paper). Now, most everyone reads news online. Today, on Newspaper Carrier Day, I'm wondering what kids do for money instead.

One Dozen Bear Paws

 

A 375-pound black bear was drowning under the Tallac Bridge in South Lake Tahoe. The crowd stood helpless on the shore until Ivan Stepanov, a tourist visiting from Russia, kicked off his shoes and jumped into the water. The bear had wandered into a neighborhood where he was tranquilized by wildlife officers. Then, as officers waited for the sedative to take effect, the bear stumbled into the icy water. Now, with the tranquilizer kicking in, the bear grew too weak to stay afloat. Ivan wrapped his arms under the bear’s neck, holding its head above the water, speaking softly to keep it calm. They both reached the shore, where officers tagged the bear’s ear, checked vitals, and later released it in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. When asked why he risked his life, Ivan shrugged. “In my country,” he replied, “We say a man’s strength is measured by who he chooses to protect. Even if it has claws.”

Lost Gosling

 

When I was in my teens, my parents allowed me to pierce my ears. It happened in an earring shop, with a piercing gun and surgical steel studs. The piercing didn’t hurt much, but I went home with an awful headache. Years later, my college roommates talked me into a second set of piercings. They used two ice cubes and a darning needle. Zero stars; do not recommend. A few years after that, my firstborn taught me why new moms don’t wear hoop earrings. Fast forward a few more years: I learned about nickel allergies and had to toss more than half my jewelry box. When my daughter was a year old, I had her ears pierced. I knew she’d want to wear bling, and wouldn’t be able to keep up with the hygiene. I was wrong on both counts. These days, she never wears earrings. I’ve still got a few of mine, in case I’m ever in the mood. Happy “Pierce Your Ears” Day!

September Door Banner

 

“After years of diligent effort, our son Eli received an invitation to interview with one of his top choices for law school. He announced, ‘I was asked 10 questions. The final was, Where do you derive your moral compass? I said I strive to pattern my life from is that of Jesus Christ. I stated if all of humanity abided by the teachings of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, the world would be a better, more peaceful place.’ The interview ended, and he thought, ‘There go my dreams. No one in secular academia wants to hear about Christ.’ Two weeks later, Eli was admitted with a scholarship. Before committing, we visited the campus. The law school looked like a castle set high on a hill overlooking a beautiful lake. As we walked through the magnificent library and stately corridors, we found carved in stone attributes from the Sermon on the Mount.” – Amy A. Wright