Shining Brightly Once Again

 We are currently rushing to get our home ready to put on the market. One thing that we haven't done in a VERY long time because it's so hard to do is clean the chandelier.  Knowing we definitely needed to get it cleaned,  Alan purchased a very tall ladder just for that purpose. He planned on cleaning the chandelier this weekend. Jane & Ken were here yesterday for dental work so we decided to tackle the chandelier ourselves and surprise Alan. Ken, fortunately, isn't afraid of heights so he climbed the ladder and did the hard work of dismantling the chandelier while Jane and I helped from below by cleaning the glass and handing things to him.

The job took about 1.5 hrs. to complete and it was taxing on Ken's legs, even with a couple of breaks. I am so grateful that he was willing to do that for us. A thank you isn't enough, but that's all I had to offer.

Unfortunately, I forgot to get a before picture of the chandelier. You will just have to picture in your mind the glass being covered with 15+ years of dust. I know, what were we thinking waiting so long???? We never turned the chandelier lights on because it was too embarrassing.

This first pic is of Ken preparing to clean the fixture after the glass had been removed.

Jane washed every light bulb and Ken placed them back in the sockets.

Alan got home right before the job was complete, so it kind of spoiled the surprise, but he got to watch Ken do the final touch-ups on the glass and help clean the area up.

The final product turned out well. We are extremely happy with it! It was so nice to have a "team" of us working on this project. It was definitely a team effort.

I'm trying to think of a life analogy to go along with this. Hmmm, here goes: 

Sometimes we get caught up in life and we let things that we should be doing regularly slide a little bit due to lack of motivation or a myriad of other excuses. (Definitely true with this chandelier.) Our lives get busy and we don't do the "upkeep" that we should with our goals, our relationships, or our healthcare, etc. As with this chandelier, if we do a little cleaning up in these areas, we will feel better, look better, and be better individuals. As the accumulated dust is removed from our lives, light will coming shining through and brighten our days. It is amazing to me how cleaning the dust off a chandelier can make me feel lighter, brighter, and happier. Cleaning up our lives can do the same.

One Angry Brahma Bull

 I once gave a Relief Society lesson on anger. It was a fun topic to teach. During that lesson, I shared a story from my childhood. Whenever I think about anger, I think about the Brahma bull that escaped the "Hurst Horse Palace" close to our home and ended up in our neighborhood. He was black and massive. These bulls are mean and aggressive. They are used in rodeos, so I'm sure that's why he was housed where he was at the Horse Palace. The escaped bull probably looked something like this one.

I'm sure my dad never forgot the day the bull got loose. He had just finished milking his cow in the barn next to our neighbor's house and on his way back to our house, while carrying the bucket of milk, he rounded the corner of the neighbor's house and saw to his horror the face of this big monstrous bull staring right at him! Dad dropped the bucket of milk, turned around, and ran quickly to safety through the back door of the neighbor's house before the bull could cause him any injury. Thank goodness the door to the house was unlocked! 

As it turns out, it became quite an ordeal to reacquire the bull. Men on horses were galloping through the neighborhood with ropes in hand in an attempt to capture and secure him. Finally they were able to lasso him and tie the rope to the back of their truck to try to lead him back safely to his pen. Unfortunately, the bull was not cooperating with their plan. He was hopping MAD at his capture and let them know it. He pulled, thrashed about, bucked, reared, and did everything he could to try to get way, breaking one of the ropes in the process.  The struggle went on and on for a lengthy period of time, but try as he might the bull couldn't get free. He actually ended up fighting to the death. His anger literally caused his demise! He fought so hard and so long that his heart gave out and he keeled over dead. The story didn't have to end that way if only the bull had tempered his anger.

Anger is a display of temper. Anger is a choice and we are cautioned in the scriptures to control our anger. Nothing positive can come from displaying anger. The bull story is a good example of that. 

One tool of Satan is to stir people up in anger one to another. There seems to be a lot of anger in the world today, especially among opposing political parties, religions, and races. It is not pretty what is happening today. Half of the country is "mad/angry" that Joe Biden and the Democrats stole the election from Donald Trump. There is overwhelming evidence that massive fraud took place, but they somehow got away with it and Joe Biden is now the new President. This doesn't sit well with many folks, including me, but I'm trying not to become angry at the injustice of it all. I am trying to focus on what's important and that is the building up of the Kingdom of God here on the earth.  It seems harder to do that with Covid-19 still preventing church congregations from meeting together on Sundays, but there are still things that can be done to help move the work forward - such as being of service and reaching out in sympathy and love through ministering to one another. These are the last days and that gathering is in full swing. The field is white already to harvest, as D&C 4 says. To love as Christ loved is the key.

Through Christ, I can feel peace in a very unpeaceful world. Through Christ I can feel love in a very unloving (or intolerant) world. Through Christ I can feel joy in a world where joy seems like a distant memory to many whose burdens overwhelm them with sorrow and stress. I'm so grateful for the sustaining power of Christ in my life. He is my rock and my greatest cheerleader. I can do all things through Christ!

The Great Transformation of 2021

We ended 2020 with a bang - Alan sold his dental practice on December 30th!!! That was the most exciting thing to happen in 2020 for sure. Alan needs to still work the practice until the end of June in order to transition the new associate into the practice (when they get one) so we will be here for a while. House hunting in Utah is not going well so far, but we are trying to find the "perfect" home for us to move into in the near future.

 We started off 2021 with efforts to get our house ready to put on the market. Some big items needed to be taken care of like the back portion of our yard being cleared from all the weeds. Here are some before and after pictures.

We waited too long to get this done due to the expense (almost $3,000). It looks so much better!!! What a difference a day makes.

Alan has done some outside painting on the house (mostly trim), we are getting some plumbing issues taken care of tomorrow, and the carpets are being cleaned today. This house is slowly being transformed. Hopefully it will sell and we can be on our way to begin retirement.