Come See The Light by Mark Mabry

For Today and Always:

A Heart Like Hannah's

As the sun set against the outline of the rocky mountains
outside my window last night
my thoughts were stirring in an emotional compote
made up of tender feelings regarding my missionary daughter--
I miss her.
I miss our quick morning chats at the breakfast table,
our afternoon "let's grab a bite to eat",
and the "how long have we been talking?" late night discussions
that took paths undiscovered until that hour.

A song comes on the radio,
and immediately my heart goes to her.
I'm not the only family member that does that--
just yesterday as the Caboose and I were in the car,
a song came on by Colbie Caillat
and from the backseat
a small voice exhales,
"I miss Nana."

"Yeah, me too."

The road took us to our destination,
dance class--
the Caboose flitted out of the car
and I was left alone with my thoughts again.

Funny how it is the little things that remind me
with a small sting,
that we have a missionary out in the field.

Here is a small snippet from her personal blog:

"Heavenly Father is continually blessing us and somewhere between, work, school, relationships and the tasks of daily living we often forget to be thankful for the opportunity we have to do those ordinary, every day things; to be surrounded by those we love, and to attened those dreaded, life-sucking days at work and school. But I know that if we show even an ounce of gratitude for the small means that we have Heavenly Father will return to us and bless us more than we ever deserve. He's good at keeping promises like that."

I came upon her companion's blog
where she shared an experience:

"On Tuesday, we helped Crystal again with her home. We organized a lot of her bills, and helped her get rid of things she really needed. I wanted to give you an update on her closing prayer, because last week’s was just as good. This time, it was, “Please bless Sister Hawkes and Sister Johnson ... And thank you to their families who love them enough to share them with me.” 

It's a comfort when I get a peek inside of Nana's missionary world.


I was thinking about motherhood and sacrifice...and then I thought of Hannah...you know, the prophet Samuel's mother.
She petitioned the Lord for a son in the temple with all the energy of her soul--

"And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, 'O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head" (1 Samuel 1:10-11)

Overhearing her prayer, the priest Eli said to her:

"Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him." (I Samuel 1:17)

Her prayers were answered with Samuel. When he was weaned from her, she then kept her promise and took him to the temple doors, handing him over to the priest, Eli. She wouldn't see her son but for one time a year after that.  She relinquished the very son for whom she prayed.  

She entered into motherhood with a purpose.  
Her heart was set on returning to God what He had given her
and perhaps alot sooner than she was ready to--
can you imagine her the night before she took her baby to the temple doors?
Can you see her washing his clothes--
water and tears mixed together in a basin;
tenderly hanging them to dry,
then folding them as neatly as she could,
tucking in little sleeves,
holding them to her cheeks and breathing in
whatever baby smell left lingering there?
Can you imagine her watching him sleep that night?
You know she didn't leave his side--
watching his chest rise and fall,
caressing his little hair locks
tracing his ears with her fingers...
what were her prayers that night?

Such complete faith and trust in Father.

Her sacrifice went on to bless multitudes as Samuel the gift,
became Samuel the Prophet.
Two books in the Old Testament are named for him.
He made a difference!
I love that--to me that is Hannah's legacy!

I want a heart like Hannah's.
I want to remember that the gift of children that Father has blessed me
is going to be my legacy.
I want to raise children up in a way that they 
make a difference in the part of the world they live in,
that when others see them coming
arms are open, hearts are gladdened.

My goal is to remember to teach my children
how to serve.
Not how to be served.
I want them to know the grace that comes
on one's hands and knees
when they're lifting someone else's burdens
that day.
I want them to know how to 
leave people and places
better and more beautiful than when they got there.

That's what Hannah taught.
By her example,
Samuel learned about sacrifice and service.
He was the result of her covenants to God.
There was no mistaking the priorities of his mother...
he knew what she believed in
because of how she lived.
Hannah continued to be blessed 
as she was given five more children
after Samuel.
I love that part.

I want a heart like Hannah's...
full of faith and conviction.

The best part of being a missionary mom
is knowing that our girl is blessing others' lives.
Is there anything sweeter to hear than our children
are looking beyond the end of their own noses
to lift and buoy others on the way?

How careful we, as parents must be,
to teach our children 
by example 
how to look for opportunities to serve,
how to accept a call for help when it comes to us,
how to be a gracious receiver and a mindful servant.

Hannah showed us how to do that.
Thanks, Hannah.

Mormon Missionaries: Full Joy & Disclosure

You're poking around your house;

going about your daily life--

washing dishes

folding laundry

tending to a child

paying bills

sweeping the porch

preparing a meal

you know, 

just-getting-through-the-day stuff,

when suddenly there's a knock at the door.

You weren't expecting anyone right then--

"Who's there?" you wonder.

You go to the door,

eye to the peephole,

and see two young people there--

standing tall,

smiling,

well-groomed,

and then scanning them on the other side of your door,

you see "it"--

the familiar black name tag.

Mormon missionaries.

Why are they standing at your door?

What are they selling? (fyi: nothing)

Will you answer the door?

Will you return their smile?

Will you invite them in?

It could be the best part of your day if you do.

Even if you don't want to know more about
what they're sharing

with folks on your street today;

mingling with lovely young people

even for a moment
is worthwhile.

I could tell you the answers to all of their questions--

but I think, I know you'd rather hear it from

a couple of actual missionaries

who are currently serving in the 

New York Rochester Mission!

They have begun a blog about their experiences

as sister missionaries--

it is as forthright as you would hope

about the daily-ness of life

as a Mormon Missionary.

They openly share what it's like to leave their "real lives" behind

and what all is involved in being able to wear

that black nametag

and invite questions about their experiences.

The name of their blog is called,

"Taking on Cumorah's Hill".

Go and visit these beautiful young women.

So the next time there's a knock on your front door,

and you peep through your door,

your heart will smile and feel warm

when you see two fresh-faced young people standing in front of you,

you'll know why they're there

smiling back at you.

Today you can get your own personal peek into their very unique world-
that of being a black-name-tag-wearing Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Here is the invitation: Taking On Cumorah's Hill.

For more general information about LDS Missionaries, click here.

Tryin' a lil' Rustic Luxe

So, at Shades of Amber
I went in today to stage the showroom.

Their niche in home decor is "rustic luxe"--
 a style that is new to me.

I worked on a couple of rooms today;
the front entrance room
and the Dash and Albert rug room.

Here's the Befores and Afters:

Lots going on here, as you can surely see:

They have a ton of goodies--

but it was a little overwhelming.

So I just pulled things out, cleared things off, rearranged some stuff,

replaced others.

n' the vintage jewelry holder and chalk board signs, to name a few things.

AFTERS:

I basically tried to thin it out and stage it as a real living room.
What do you think?

Oh and here's the mantel...that is being taken down as soon as another furniture peice is finished being painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint:

I'm not crazy about this, but again, tried to thin it out.

(and it's blurry too, sorry ' bout that)

And the Rug Room:

It's still a WIP but we've got some ideas that we're workin' on...

Anyway,
I have enjoyed this alot and am looking forward to our next project:
a dining room!

I Prayed, He Answered

Three Sundays ago,
I knelt beside my bed
and prayed.

In my prayer,
I told Heavenly Father that I was ready to go back to work.
But it needed to be a job
where I could do something I am already familiar with,
because, with the memory loss I experience,
I don't have the confidence that I could go in cold turkey
and learn something new.

I didn't know what that would look like
or where that might be.

The decorating store I used to work at,
has changed how it is run,
is only open to the public by appointment
most days.

I offered my prayer and put my hope out there.

Wednesday,
Amber called from
"Shades of Amber":

"Hey, are you interested in a job?"

Yes. Yes, I am.

I'm thrilled to get to learn how to use "Annie Sloan Chalk Paint",
and to work with Amber and Brad, the owners.
They've expanded their business to include home accessories,
bedding and Dash and Albert Rugs.
I can do this!
Plus, it's 10 minutes from the house.
I started last week.

Prayers are answered.

UpStaged! Home Staging Colorado BEFORE & AFTERS

Not only do we at UpStaged! Home Staging help homeowners prepare their homes for the sales market,
we also work with home owners to re-design their homes,
using, in general, with what they already own.
Recently,
I have had a blast working with a great gal in our ward as we've been updating her house
just for the fun of it!
We started last week in her Master bedroom:

BEFORE:


What She Wanted:
New floors
New paint

Notice the built-in TV shelf--that was removed in our remodel, 

to make way for a flat-screen TV to be mounted on the wall.

What we've done so far:

 Teak floors!

How beautiful is that?!

 Paint color:

Okay this was tricky...what we wanted was Benjamin Moore's HAWTHORNE YELLOW--

we had that mixed up at our local SherwinWilliams' store ( BM's store was further than we wanted to drive) but it came out like banana yellow--screamin' banana yellow...yikes! (* I didn't get take a picture of that color. The color you see in all of these pics is the same.)
And did ya notice the missing TV shelf?  Yup, it's gone.

 So we took our bucket o' paint back to the SW store

and the gal there actually gave us a mix of hues to "play with" until we got the color just how we wanted it--

a nice buttery-slightly-golden-yellow. 

It worked and we got it exactly as we wanted!

It's a custom color, but we have enough of a sample that we can take it back to SW if we need to do touch-ups or whatever in the future.  We were tryin' to give our new color a name--I call it "Bisquick" because that's what it looked like when we were stirring it up in the bucket.  But the homeowner calls it "Dawn's color".  We began putting her room back together today
and she loves it!  YEA! I knew she would! Here's a peek of our progress:

We took out the bookcase. And the floor lamp. And that picture above the bed.  Although she'll be getting a larger metal artwork this week for over the bed--the one hanging is just something she already had and it's good for now, yeah?

 Now, remember, she had 99% of this stuff tucked away in her house...the silver trays, the crystal, the pottery, all of it.  We just poked around until we found stuff we loved...the tall crystal vase was from her bridal shower 3 decades ago--we found it, washed it and put some ranuculus and clear marbles in it.

 That  darling corner chair with the woven bottom

 was sitting in her garage!  

 We fetched this warm chocolate brown chair out of her great room that is hardly ever used, and fetched the table out of another bedroom. 

 This is not the best picture but another angle.  

And this was what we accomplished this week!  She has a list of things to get that will complete the look--lamps, a rug, a few more things for the high ledges above the walls...we'll get to that next week!

I really enjoyed this project so much.  The floors and painting were done by Doni Long @ Myles High Restoration, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Next week he is pulling up the carpet in the master bathroom and replacing it with travertine tiles we've chosen!  It's going to be gorgeous!

Tips for re-designing your space:
*For the most dramatic difference, put your money into the foundation of the room--
the floors.  If you like what you  have or don't have it in the budget to change it,
the next best change is PAINT!  Get the best quality paint you can afford.  Try some samples first,
on all of the walls to be sure it looks great on all the walls in the different times of day.
*Get a friend or family member that doesn't live in the house with you to give you ideas on what you might be able to re-purpose in your home.  Wash the crystal, shine the silver things you already own, bring out the things you once loved and see if they will work again.  *Note: this does not include broken things, worn out things, tole painted ducks, eucalyptus floral arrangements from the '80's.  Use classic items and you'll be fine.

Take Before and After pics--you'll be so glad you did!  And I'd love to see them!

Spring Sprucing Up--some new projects

Our family room the day we moved in...dontcha love the outdated brown splotchy paint?

The main floor bathroom

with vinyl flooring.

'Nother view of the main floor bathroom with the builder grade sink, cabinet and mirror.  And my bright n' shiny Caboose.

AFTER main floor bathroom/laundry room

Details: Paint color: Benjamin Moore's Wasabi! I love it!  It's got blue undertones, not yellow.  Just a great green!
Flooring: Porcelain tiles in a grooved wood pattern from Home Depot.
Pedestal Sink: American Standard from Lowe's.
Faucet: rubbed oil bronze from Pfister @ Home Depot
Mirror: Hobby Lobby
Light Fixture: Home Depot Online
floral bucket: Southern Living at Home
hand towel & paper holder stand: TJ Maxx Home Goods
birds: Real Deals

I made the valance outta scrap fabric I already had, but I'm wanting to put a black and white buffalo check up there.

And now onto our familyroom:

Paint color: Sherwin Williams Wheat Grass
Curtain Panels: "Kenda" from IKEA

That ficus tree comes and goes with staging jobs. Right now it's standing there taking up space.
I really want to mount the TV on the wall and get a different console under it.

Just a FYI: Those snowshoes are from WWII. They belonged to Kent's father and were government issue. I happen to love them! I'm really wanting a big honkin' rustic mirror in place of the Ogle painting there, but it works for now.

My eat-in kitchen with my awesome Craigslist find: the french-flavored dining set! Have yet to decide on what kind of fabric I want to recover the chairs. They came the way pictured--clear plastic over the fabric--and will stay that way until I figure out what to do with them.  But I love the bench. It's just so different than anything I have n' I like that. the wall color is continued through the rest of the kitchen, but I'm not done with that yet. It's called "Toffee" by Kwal--but I just had it made at Home Depot from BEHR paint.

Our missionary board...we tuck in all the letters/cards/ pics Diana sends home.  

Our very small front living room.  It's so small I can't even put the matching coffee table in there. I mean, it would fit, but it'd be super tight. I happen to like empty spaces, tho. 

Ok so what's new in here are the lamps and the pic above the sofa which used to be above the fireplace.

Got the lamps at TJMaxx Home Goods.

I'm aching to paint the frame too.

And the 108" panels I ordered online from Home Depot.  I'm still going to paint in here, so that's on my TO DO list for Spring. Don't mind the white tool box on the piano bench--it's a rigged up therapy thing my husband is using as he recuperates from his total knee replacement--using that neon green rubber band and the piano.  Weirdo.

Bought the poppies and the container at Hobby Lobby.

So that's it.

What're you doing to spruce up your house this Spring?

The Goal is to be like Him

*Mark Mabry, photo

It's near midnight this Sunday.
And though my head should be firmly upon my pillow,
my mind is still reflecting upon the past week's events.
Three events, no, Four events in succession
are tumbling 'round and 'round
as I try to settle them down.

The first, was the passing of Mitchell Jones--
the little boy whose story I came upon
and my mother heart resolutely says I must never forget.
He and his family are the personifications
of
grace and courage.
I want to remember them
"all the days", as my Nana says.
His parents' testimony of heavenly things
has strengthened my own
and like the many others who've been touched
by their family's journey,
I have re-examined my own faith and beliefs
about the eternal nature of God's children.
We are Spiritual Beings having a Mortal Experience.
 I know this for my self because the Holy Spirit has taught this truth to me.

On Tuesday afternoon,
my youngest two children came home from school
quite upset from yet another assault on their faith
from another student who rides their bus.
It's been going on since last fall
when this young boy learned that my children
and two other students who also ride the bus,
are Mormon.
This young man identified that he and his family
go to another church, specifically the Lutherans.
Now, my husband was raised a Lutheran in his small hometown
Choteau, Montana,
where, if you walked into Trinity Lutheran Church
on First Avenue,
you would see a beautiful glass mosaic artwork
his mother made as a gift to the church
she was raised in,
and raised her family in...
traditions that blessed their lives.
Not a tradition of Trinity Lutheran Church
was the practice of demeaning the other members of their community
who chose to express their faith in other religions--
including the community of Mormons in their midst.

But, those days are long gone.
Those days of mutual respect, civility,
plain ol' reverence for sacred things.

So this young man who calls himself a "Lutheran"
has, for months,
decided to use his liberty at will
and tell my children that because of their faith,
they're going to Hell.
We've been practicing the
"turn the other cheek" thing for months.
We also tried the
"say nothing and walk away"
"try to teach him the truth about what we believe" things--
but those efforts have been unilaterally shoved off;
he declares forcefully back to my children
that their leaders lie to them,
that they don't really know what it is to be a Mormon,
that they are deceived
and in the end,
they're going to Hell and live with the Devil
forever and ever amen,
according to what his pastor and parents have taught him.

This past Tuesday,
my youngest, Arianna,
hit her breaking point.
She'd had enough of this boy's ignorant, hurtful words.
And after yet another assault at the bus stop
at the school,
well, let's just say,
the bus monitor caught it on film.
She got on the bus,
went to the very last seat of the bus,
and her older brother, who was on after her,
went and sat two seats ahead of her.
Then,
the tormentor plopped down in the seat between them
and continued his harsh condemnation--
"You Mormons believe you're going to be gods and create your own planets!", he scoffed.
His words directed not only at my kids,
but to the other two LDS girls on the bus.
It was so rude and cutting,
that two other students who are not LDS
told the boy to "shut-up",
but he didn't.

Ari, who has never ever reacted,
stood up and slapped this boy on the arm.
The boy stood up to retaliate,
and immediately, Joseph, who was sitting in front of him.
stood and pushed the boy back into his seat,
guarding his younger sister.

The boy reported the "slap" to the bus driver,
and both Joseph and Ari gave their own accounts
before getting off the bus in front of our house.
By the time Ari got in the front door,
tears were flowing.
She was not only upset at the boy,
but I think it shocked her self
that she could be pushed to hit someone like that.
Joseph was just as upset, though not crying, asked
"Why do they hate us?"
"He said we believe we're going to be gods and have our own planets."

Kent and I looked at each other,
tried to comfort our children after they'd both felt bullied.
What should we do next?
Well, I went up and called the Supervisor for the Transportation department
of our school district and left a detailed message.
We'd had enough.
Our kids had had enough.

The next morning,
I got a call from the Supervisor and related the events.
He shared what the bus video revealed--
and without the sound,
it looked like my kids had started it.
But, fortunately, the bus driver figured something must've been going on
at the bus stop before the kids got on
and after hearing our side,
with the witnesses' names given,
it was clear that this young boy was bullying
not just our kids, but the other LDS kids too.

I told the Supervisor that someone needed to teach this young boy
that even if he doesn't understand a faith different from his,
he doesn't have the right
to harass those that follow that faith.
He agreed and they have fixed this boy's behavior
with a small discipline.
Which, is sad, because he is only expressing that
which he has been taught
by his religious leader and his parents.
Shame on them, I say.

Now, what I want to share is this:
Yes, Latter-Day Saints believe that in following Christ,
in keeping His commandments,
we can become like Him.
In Matthew:

48 ^aBe ye therefore ^bperfect, even as your ^cFather which is in heaven is ^dperfect.

Notice, this was given as part of the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus is teaching this to his disciples and followers.

The next time Jesus says this,
it is after he is a resurrected being,
and then, he says to become perfect, even as his father and he
are perfect.
Perfection comes after the resurrection.
That's after this life.

That means that while our mortal experience ends here
in a physical death,
our soul lives on.
And it is not so that we can sit on clouds,
playing harps and singing praises for all eternity
to our Creator.
We are evolving beings,
progression is natural.
Our Heavenly Father did not create millions of beings
simply so that we can come to this earth,
die and return to His presence so that we can
sit at his feet all day long and sing hymns.
What a waste that would be!

In Paul's letter to the Romans 
he wrote Romans 8:

 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

We are children of God.
And if we so choose to follow Christ,
we are entitled to receive all that He has.
So yes,
we believe that our goal is to become like 
our Savior and our Heavenly Father.
Look, when Jesus spoke to his disciples about becoming like him,
he wasn't talking about dressing like him,
wearing robes and sandals.
He wasnt' just talking about consecrating their lives to preach the "Good News"--
He was declaring His Divinity and wanted them to 
BECOME like Him.

The fact is, 
all of us are divinely created to become like our Father
and inherit all that He has been blessed with because He is our Father.
When you come to know that,
it is not a blasphemous notion,
not a sacrilegious hope,
it is not taking away from the glory and grandeur of God.
It is acknowledging that WE BELONG TO HIM.

The other thing I just wanna say,
and I have taught my children is that 
it is not a good Shepherd that teaches his flock
to be afraid of or to bash the teachings of other churches.
I am grateful that my most favorite leader of
Woodvale Baptist Church in Rock Hill, South Carolina,
Reverend Glen Self
was a good man. 
A godly man.
His message was love.
It is because of him
that when I was introduced to the LDS church,
I knew I could go to God in prayer and ask Him
if what I was learning was true.
He said "It's true. Hold on."

Now, it has been my experience that many other churches
preach against the LDS Church with ferocity--
their livelihood depends on keeping the benches full.
and they'll use whatever means they can to do just that
including fear and ignorance.
Our Bishops are not paid.
They have their own jobs in the world.
My current bishop works for Fed-Ex.
My last bishop was a dentist.
The one before that, a plastic surgeon.
Before that, a lawyer.
I share that to show that that's why you won't hear
the bashing of other faiths in our meetings.
Not from the pulpit.
Not in the classrooms.
It's not in our curriculum to teach anything 
but doctrine of our own faith.
Our pews are full because,
like coals that glow warmer when they touch other coals,
we too, recognize the need to rub shoulders with our 
brothers and sisters at church.
None of us are paid to show up,
clean up,
set-up or serve in the building.
We come because we follow Christ.

Lastly,
I got to witness the baptism Saturday night,
of my good friend Peri's husband, B.
What a sacred experience to witness someone 
take their place in His Kingdom.
B. was just beaming as he came out of the water.
Oh man, he was so happy and a little emotional as he shared
his journey to the font that night.
It has been a careful and thoughtful,
one-step-at-a-time journey.
In the end, he chose to take his place and begin his own discipleship.

Baptism, while common in the church when our children turn eight years old,
is a huge deal for an adult convert.

I was just 16 years old when I took my place.

It was the single most important decision I have thus made in my mortal life.

The greatest choice that has blessed with abundant ripples of goodness

I could have ever made.

*Mark Mabry, photo

Do you feel that way about your faith too?  

Oh I hope so.

It is just the best way to go through this life.

Teach your children what it is to be a Christian,

what it is to follow Christ. 

Teach them the Golden Rule.

Teach them that true discipleship means serving, and lifting others

in their daily lives.

Teach them about love and charity.

Teach them that They Belong to Him

and the Goal is Heaven.

I AM HIS.

My goal is to become likeHim.

Want to learn more? Check out Mormon.org