The Blessing of Fasting and Prayer

I've seen the hand of the Lord manifest in my life and I wish to give thanks and record the blessing that has come.

For several years I've been encouraged by my dentist to have some oral surgery done for the recession around two of my front teeth. For a number of reasons I have been putting it off, but this fall I felt the need to get it taken care.

I was apprehension about the upcoming surgery. I asked our family to join with us in fasting and prayer that I would be blessed. I was unsure about the medication to help relax me during the surgery. I wasn't going to take it, but Ondalynn expressed her concern about me going through the surgery without it. I visited with Bryan, who is finishing up medical school. For several weeks it was on my mind all the time considering whether I should take it or not. But once I visited with Bryan, and he assured me I would be alright and it wasn't that strong of a medication, I decided to take it. It was interesting to me to see how prayers are answered, and how we can come to know that we have made the right decision. The next day, I never thought about the medication all day. As I was saying my prayers that night I realized that it was the right decision because my mind was at peace and I wasn't worrying anymore.

The days leading up to the surgery I received text messages and emails from family members letting me know they were thinking and praying for me which brought comfort. The morning of the surgery, I woke up to this picture sent to me from Ondalynn. Just seeing the faces of my sweet grandchildren, warmed my heart and I felt calm. Amazingly, I was almost feeling "excited" about having the work done.

The day before my surgery we had had snow, and the day of my surgery the roads very icy. We didn't know if we were going to make it down our hill, but gratefully our neighbor, Alex Ordonez, came to our rescue by helping push our car a way from the sidewalk to get some traction.

I couldn't believe how quickly the surgery went. I was expecting them to take some tissue off the top of my mouth, but gratefully, the procedure went better than planned and the surgeon didn't need to remove tissue, but was able to use donor tissue. I was grateful Crismon could be there to take me home. He was a good "nurse" to me the rest of the day.

As I was saying my prayers that night and expressing gratitude for how well things had gone, the spirit inspired me to know that it was because of fasting and prayer that I was blessed. How grateful I am for a wonderful family that blesses me through their good lives and their prayers. Heavenly Father is always there for us, and the sweet, faithful prayers of children, reach heavenward.

To my mind came the conference talk that I had recently read from the October 2014 conference by Bishop Dean M. Davies where he talked about fasting. He quoted from President Harold B. Lee who said: "If you analyze...the 58th chapter of the book of Isaiah you will find unraveled why the Lord wants us to pay fast offerings, why he wants us to fast. It's because by qualifying thus we can call and the Lord can answer. We can cry and the Lord will say, "Here I am.'" 

Isaiah 58:8-11

8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and they righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be they rearward.

9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

My recovery went very well. Crismon shared my results in an email to family and friends:

About two weeks ago Vivienne underwent oral surgery. This week she went back for her first post-surgery check up. The surgeon’s first word: “Unbelievable!” He turned to his assistant: “When did we perform the surgery on her?” Two weeks ago, she said. He shook his head, “This is what we usually see at six weeks.” Then to Vivienne, “You healed like an 18-year-old." The body can accelerate healing when we feed it right.

Again, I am so grateful for the power and blessings that come from uniting in fasting and prayer for the welfare of others. How blessed I am to have a choice family that supports me in my needs.

So much to be thankful for....

We're grateful for so many blessings at this glorious Thanksgiving time of year. This has been a busy, but memorable Thanksgiving week. The week began by attending Vivi & Brett's ward to see their Primary Program. Sitting next to their Grandma (Diane) Caudle, I loved seeing Clark and Daisy participate in giving their parts and singing. Kaeley was to sing along with one of the songs, but she wasn't too interested. Being a Grandma is the best.

Monday afternoon we welcomed Emily and her boyfriend, Bronson Gardner, who is from Astoria. Emily and Bronson are in the same ward at BYU. They met that first Sunday, Emily's 2nd day back to school. Soon they began dating and have been together ever since. He is a fine young man, and Emily seems so happy and content. The Vance's and the Caudle's joined us for dinner that evening and FHE and games. We really appreciate all Emily & Bronson did for us while they were here. They hauled the boxes out of the garage and decorated the house for Christmas. They worked together on the decorating and then put together a cabinet organizer for the grandchildren toys in the basement, along with several other projects that were so helpful to us. By noon on Wed. they headed to Astoria to spend the remainder of the holiday with Bronson's family. We enjoyed getting better acquainted with Bronson and Emily felt at home with his family, too. This week only strengthened their relationship as they found they enjoyed being with each other in other settings besides school. 

Wednesday was baking day in preparation for Thanksgiving. I was assigned the "Sweet Potato Pie" as we call it and apple pies. Crismon was going to work with me on the pies that evening as tradition, but unfortunately there was a serious need and he was called to the hospital in Clackamas to give a member of our stake a blessing. Making 3 apple pies by myself that night was a bit of a stretch for me physically, but I was grateful when Crismon returned to help me brine the turkey. Since Ondalynn's oven was small, we both roasted a smaller turkey. We took our china, goblets and best silverware to make it extra special on Thanksgiving.

We appreciated Ondalynn & Gary hosting Thanksgiving at their home this year. We joined with the Caudle's and Fawn & Mike Johnson, and their daughter, Nyah. The Vance's neighbor came for a short time. We had such a delicious meal, and then Gary asked us to share about the most famous person we had met and the most unusual job we had ever had. It lead to an interesting conversation by all.

 

 

To make room for pie, we headed outside in the drizzle for a walk several times around the park close to their home. We enjoyed gathering for a program of thanks, and Thanksgiving hymns.

 I often get pictures of the kids, so this time I wanted to make sure I had one of the couples, too. We are blessed with a beautiful family! Gary and Brett went to see the movie, "Interstellar," the children watched a program they enjoyed, and the rest of us watched "The Giver" after the dishes were done and things packed away. Naturally, we missed each one of our other children. We spoke briefly with Crismon in Taiwan, and Seth in Minnesota, and communicated with others by text messages. We live in a beautiful land of freedom, with the blessings of the Gospel, and the Priesthood power that unites us as family. We feel rich as we humbling recognize the outpouring of God's love upon us. I love my life, my wonderful husband, the joy of being a mother, and the sweet privilege of having grandchildren to adore and cherish.

One added blessing that happened this month, we received a generous bonus from Reliv for being 1st in the Nation during the month of October in volume of sales. This was such a great blessing as a steep property taxes were due at the same time. Heavenly Father always watches out for us.

Special time with the Caudle's

Keeping up with recording the various activities of the year have been a challenge. So, like my post about the Vance family, I'll record some of the fun happenings this year, so far, with the Caudle's During spring break, Vivi and her children, Clark, Daisy and Kaeley joined us for a picnic lunch at the Gresham City Park. Grandpa played ball with them afterwards. Many families head off to Disneyland, or other exciting places, but Vivi is so good to make these vacations a special time for their children. She is such a good Mommy taking them places to create those memories. They spent the night at our house. Since the grass was still damp, Grandpa set up a tent in the basement for them to sleep in. The next day they played at our house.

Daisy and Kaeley looked so beautiful on Easter Sunday with their matching dresses. They hunted for Easter eggs in the Vance's backyard. Don't they have a cute family!

In May, Grandpa took Clark on a Father & Sons Outing. Clark had such a terrific time with all the outdoor events.

Sometimes I will tend the children so Brett and Vivi can go to the temple, or have time together for a date. It's a joy to serve these cute ones. Then, when they come to our house, Clark asks for chores so he can earn the right to use my IPad.

We all met at the Caudle's apartment in October to celebrate Daisy's 6th birthday. On November 9th, I put on the dinner for my two beautiful daughters, Ondalynn & Vivi, for their birthdays.

We love having this precious family close by. Vivi comes and helps me with things around the house, and it's so fun to have her cute kids come, too. Dad took Clark bowling yesterday for a fundraiser for the East Portland Chamber. Unfortunately, he didn't get pictures but he had a fun time being with Clark. On his very last ball, Clark made a strike!

Back to Paradise

Who can pass up the opportunity of spending one-on-one time with these adorable William's children? I'm a lucky Grandma! With Bryan in Georgia doing rotations for nearly a month, I made my way to Arizona to help give Meredith a little of a break from doing the daily routine all on her own. Meredith was handling being a single Mom just great! She would have made it fine without me, but I'm glad I could enjoy those five days in beautiful Arizona. I love going there. I guess you can say, "I left my heart there...25 years ago!" But I love Oregon, too. Being in Arizona brings back so many fond memories.

I love the time I had to read stories to these 3 cute kids, Evelyn (5), Christian (3), and Hudson 18 months. I was especially happy I bonded with Hudson as he hasn't been around me very much. Seeing him in Utah in October he didn't want very much to do with me. Now we're pals. On my last day there, while at the park, Hudson came over to me, took me by the hand and had me climb up on the playground equipment and go down the slide with him. Loved it! Doing a puzzle with Evelyn, playing CandyLand and Spot It with Christian was so fun. They are such good children, just busy and at that age that they need lots of attention. 

One of the highlights of my visit was attending the Open House for the Phoenix, AZ temple. Fortunately for the William's, it is just a 5-minute drive away for them in Glendale. After dropping Evelyn off at school we went straight to the temple and caught the small crowds early in the morning. Oh, it is such a beautiful temple, and very thrilling to be there. The spirit was so strong, I was in tears before we even made it in the temple. It's so wonderful to have this 3rd temple in the Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert area to bless the saints and people there.

Every foundation stone that is laid for a Temple, and every Temple completed . . . , lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power of God and Godliness, moves the heavens in mighty power in our behalf, invokes and calls down upon us the blessings of the Eternal Gods, and those who reside in their presence. [“The Logan Temple,” Millennial Star 39, no. 46 (12 November 1877): 743]

On Halloween afternoon, Meredith gave Hudson a cute haircut. Watching a video on his Mom's phone helped keep him somewhat still. She does a great job with those haircuts.

We sent Bryan some pictures of these adorable kids before they headed out the door to go trick-or-treating in 87-degree weather that night.

Other activities included several visits to the park to enjoy their lovely fall weather. We attended the Stake Conference Broadcast and I was glad Meredith could attend the Saturday evening session. Sunday afternoon we walked around their beautiful apartment grounds. Evelyn wore her winter coat as it was a balmy low 70-degrees. This dip in the temperature was the coldest it had been for many, many months. Just 2 days before it was 95 and hot! 

I enjoyed being at Meredith's ultrasound appointment where they checked the anatomy. I was juggling Christian and Hudson, but they were good boys. We are grateful everything looks healthy, and they confirmed that she is definitely having a girl.

Having lunch with Evelyn one day was a special treat. That afternoon I picked her up from school and as we were walking to the car I said, "This has been such a wonderful day for me. I got to have lunch with you and now I got to pick you up." She stopped walking and threw her arms around me and gave me the biggest hug. My heart melted. What a sweetheart. She's a good help to her Mommy.

I took several hours on Monday afternoon to go to Sun City to give a Reliv presentation at the home of one of our distributors, Lou Mello. I love sharing hope with others and I seemed to be immediate friends with her guests.

I am so impressed with each of our children and what good parents they are to their children. Meredith prepares nutritious meals and snacks, always takes her children out everyday for an activity, often jogging, pushing the stroller and the two oldest riding their bikes, walking Evelyn to and from school, she stays connected to family and friends, and manages amazingly well with Bryan away so much. Not only that, but she is a pioneer woman, changing her own stroller tires and putting in new inner tubes. She is such a faithful, sweet devoted daughter. We are blessed!