Thankful...Day 4

Today I am thankful for modern conveniences. I am particularly thankful for our furnace and for a heater in my car. I do NOT like to be cold. I don't love to be hot, but I can deal with heat better than cold. (I am, after all, from Arizona. Although, I have now lived in Utah just barely more than half of my life!) Yesterday we had our first snowfall of the year. It was beautiful...and cold. SO I'm thankful for warm blankets, warm socks, warm sweaters, and especially for heaters.

Along with heat, I am thankful for computers and the internet. Writing this blog helps me in many ways, and it is a good way to preserve family memories. Because many of my friends and family members do not live near me, I am thankful for blogs, Facebook, email and telephones that allow me to communicate quickly and easily with my loved ones that are not nearby. I am even thankful for my cell phone. I gave in after being called as Relief Society President and got a cell phone (just a cheap one with only unlimited calls and texts and nothing else). I had not had a cell phone in a decade, and I really didn't feel a need to have one. But now that I have one, I have come to depend on it. It is quite a convenience...not really a need, but a great asset.

I am thankful for my appliances that make cooking and so many other tasks (such as laundry) easier. I especially love my Blendtec blender. Love it. But I really appreciate all of my appliances...Alfredo and I have been married 12 1/2 years now, so many of our appliances are that old. My waffle iron still functions but is breaking and doesn't shut all the way...so I can make waffles but they don't get very crisp. Last weekend, my hand mixer died...like made a funny grinding, groaning noise and then shot sparks at me. Can I survive without these and other appliances? Yes. But would I want to for long? No. I am thankful for these and so many other modern conveniences.

And I must not forget my car. I don't particularly like driving, but I am sure glad that I can get places quickly and easily and that my car has been so dependable.

So much to be thankful for!

Fall/Halloween Concert

Michelle had a violin concert this past Wednesday. It was held at Summerhays Music, and because it was the day before Halloween, Linda told the violinists that they could dress up.

This was the best concert yet. It was a fun one, because they played spooky sound effects throughout Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Some of the students played a fun song called Witches Dance and had some fun effects like playing part of it with their bows upside down and some of it while on tiptoes or crouching.

Love Linda's wig! Michelle wasn't sure it was her when we first arrived. :) Linda is so very talented. I knew that, but she played a song at Kyle's funeral yesterday and it was incredible. I am so grateful that she is Michelle's violin teacher, and that we have the privilege of knowing her both as a teacher and as a (former) ward member. We love Mrs. Montgomery!

But my favorite thing about the concert was that Michelle seemed less nervous and more confident. She seemed able to memorize songs a bit better this time around, and she seemed less stressed and anxious both in the weeks before the concert and during the actual concert. I even saw her smiling and got photos of her smiling during her performance. Usually she is concentrating so hard that she looks somewhat unhappy. It seems like she is developing more love for her playing and more confidence in her abilities. She complains less and less about needing to practice despite being as busy or busier than before. I am so pleased with her hard work and dedication! Look at these smiles:

Michelle played 9 songs this time. She played Pachelbel's Canon, Londown Towne by Lyon, Fanfare by Lyon, Bile them Cabbage Down arr. by C. Hall, The King's March by J. Clarke, Ashokan Farewell by J. Ungar, Sonata by Mozart, Orange Blossom by Rouse, and Twinkle Little Star, Variations 1 & 5 Spooky Style.

Thankful...Day 3

Today I am thankful for missionary work. I am thankful for all I am learning about how to do missionary work as I serve. I taught Relief Society today. Two weeks ago, our lesson in RS was on missionary work. When I realized that, I began praying about what to teach because I had been planning to teach about missionary work and some of the things I have been learning and pondering. I prayed about a few other ideas, but just didn't feel right about any of them. I felt like I needed to teach about missionary work. When I walked into RS today, I saw that the Gospel Doctrine teacher was erasing the board and it said Missionary Work at the top. I chuckled and groaned. What could I possibly add that others hadn't already heard? Realistically, I, Jenny Panameno, couldn't add anything. But I do have a testimony and I have listened carefully to what was said in conference, and I just finished reading The Power of Everyday Missionaries by Clayton Christensen. So, with the Lord's help, hopefully, I was able to inspire and bear testimony of the blessings that come from missionary work and some of the ways we can better participate in hastening the work of salvation.

I am thankful for the role of missionary work in my life. My husband is a convert, and I am thankful for the missionaries who taught him and thankful for friends who fellowshipped him and many who continue to do so, in ways both small and big. My stepdad is also a convert to the church, and my life has been blessed immensely by his example and testimony. I LOVE this gospel with all my heart, and I know that the Lord loves missionary work. I want to love what the Lord loves. I want to do what the Lord would do.

As I mentioned, I read The Power of Everyday Missionaries. It is a wonderful book, and I am thankful I read it. We bought four copies as a Relief Society that we will be passing around and encouraging families/sisters to read and then pass on to someone else. I learned a great deal from this book. Here are the things that stuck out to me most.

First, he lists a long list of scriptures dealing with the blessings that come from missionary work. Blessings like having the Lord with you, having the spirit, having your sins forgiven, becoming holy, having joy, being comforted. Tremendous blessings that I want for myself and for my family and for all those I love.

Another thing that stood out to me is that he says we succeed when we invite. In other words, we can't control who will accept our invitations to come to church or to listen to the missionaries, but if we are inviting then the Lord is pleased. He also said that we can't predict who will and who won't accept the gospel, so we should just invite everyone.

Another quote that really hit me was, "You can't be a successful ward mission leader if you cannot speak of sharing the gospel using present tense verbs and first-person pronouns." As I read that, I realized that this applies to us as member missionaries as well. I can't rest on my laurels knowing that I shared the gospel a lot as a teenager or think, "Well, I have a profile on Mormon.org and I often share things of a spiritual nature on Facebook and my blog, so I'm doing enough." Those are good things, but there is a lot more I can and should do.

I also found the chapter on setting goals and deadlines to be so helpful and inspiring...and a bit of a call to repent/change. I shared 4 quotes from that chapter in Relief Society today.

I think perhaps the part I loved the most was when he discussed three wards that have seen present day miracles in missionary work because of the efforts of the ward members. That is my vision for our ward. It can happen. It is happening in some wards in our mission. I want to do my part (and encourage others to do their part) to help it happen here too.

I am so thankful for the wonderful Elders serving in our ward and particularly for their influence on my next door neighbors. I am so thankful for the wonderful young men and young women from my ward that are sharing the gospel throughout the world on full time missions.

I am thankful for the many teachings about missionary work that were given throughout General Conference. I filled a posterboard with ideas on how to do more missionary work. I especially loved three talks given at conference that related to missionary work. (I loved many other talks as well, but these three seemed specifically aimed at missionary work and spoke to me.) President Uchtdorf gave a talk aimed to increase faith and invite all to come back, to join in, to be part of this great work. It was entitledCome Join With Us. I absolutely loved Elder Gifford's talkHastening the Lord's Game Plan! about how much the Lord loves missionary work based upon the use of exclamation points. I also loved Elder Ballard's talk Put Your Trust in the Lord. This quote especially stuck out to me and related to what Clayton Christensen said in his chapter about setting goals and deadlines. Elder Ballard said, "We are not asking everyone to do everything. We are simply asking all members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out to just "one" between now and Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the Savior." That will be my gift to the Savior this Christmas season. I will reach out to at least one and invite them to church, invite them to our Relief Society Christmas dinner and invite at least one person to meet with the missionaries. I know that I can do this, with the Lord's help.

Pumpkin Carving

On Monday, we carved pumpkins. Michelle carved hers by herself. Ella and I worked on hers together, and Gabby decided what she wanted hers to look like and she scooped all the seeds out, but Alfredo did most of the carving. Ella found a picture of a dog that she wanted hers to look like. I am not the best at drawing or carving, so I was pretty impressed that it did look like a dog when we were done (and just in case anyone couldn't tell...we also carved the word dog into the side. Michelle's was scary with toothpicks for teeth. Gabby's was also a "scary" pumpkin.

Thankful...Day 2

I am thankful for the plan of salvation or the plan of happiness. (I like both names for the plan and each name evokes slightly different thoughts/feelings for me.). Today, I attended a baptism and a funeral. Both are/were great reminders about why we are here and the purpose of this life.

First, I attended my next door neighbor's baptism. I will call her A. A is close friends with my kids, and she just turned 8. She was SOO excited to be baptized. I think it is always special to see someone get baptized, but this seemed particularly special because our neighbors have not been active in the church until about a year and a half ago. A took the missionary discussions to prepare for baptism, and I was able to participate in two of them. It has been so wonderful to watch A and her mom and sister learn and begin to try to live the gospel. The spirit was so strong at teh baptism. A took the first step on the path that can lead her back home. She received the first necessary ordinance in the plan of salvation. Now, through repentance and because of Christ's Atonement, she can some day live with her family and her Father and Savior again.

After the baptism, I attended the funeral for my neighbor Kyle. Kyle is a wonderful man. He struggled for years with MS and while it is sad to see him go, I am grateful that he no longer has to suffer or deal with the constraints of his mortal body. I am thankful for the peace that we can feel from knowing the plan of salvation, to know that death is only temporary, to know that families can/will be reunited, to know that Kyle will be resurrected with a perfect body. I am thankful to know that he endured it well and that he will be happy. What a blessing the plan of happiness is! What peace and joy it brings to know that there is a purpose for this life! I know this is true.

Halloween Carnival 2013

Jackson Elementary has a Halloween carnival each year (although they didn't last year.) It is always a lot of fun. This year may have been the best yet. They have food (this year it was a choice of a hot dog or posole...and the posole was GOOD!) They have games. Lots of games. The girls did a cake walk, and Gabby was one of the last 3 left in. And our friend Aelora won! There was a doughnut eating contest and a hilarious game where you had to bounce about 10 ping pong balls out of an empty kleenex box tied around your waist by dancing and hopping. There was a room to find spiders and bugs and eyeballs (all plastic) inside worms (spaghetti) and other slimy stuff. There was a room where you danced with a balloon between two people's foreheads, and a room where you tried to balance the most dice on a tongue depressor you held in your mouth. There was a room where they gave you 3 circular glow sticks that you tried to toss onto a soda. If you got it on the soda, then the soda was yours. The girls enjoyed these games. They also had a door decorating contest during the week, so it was fun to see all their doors.
They had fun seeing their friends there.



But perhaps the girls' favorite part was they had a DJ and the kids danced and dance and played with balloons. Gabby, especially, was having a ball dancing and hitting balloons. She was not the least bit self-conscious which is unusual for her.

Thankful...Day 1

My neighbor inspired me to blog about one thing I am thankful for each day in November. Today it is so easy to know what to blog about. I am so thankful, so very thankful, for the wonderful women in my ward. My wonderful neighbor, Kyle, died on Wednesday. The funeral is tomorrow. This has been a super busy week for me with work, piano lessons, violin lesson, violin concert and Halloween as well as homework, reading, etc. But our amazing compassionate service leader, Charity, has beautifully organized a luncheon, and so many sisters have volunteered to bring food and to serve and to help with the funeral. I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many women that inspire me daily to be better, to serve more and to be more Christlike.

My first counselor, Susan, texted to find out if we had enough tablecloths and we didn't so she said she would buy some. I thanked her, because I ended up with a migraine this afternoon and it was so helpful to not have to go buy them. About 30 minutes later, she showed up at my door with a water bottle tied with a bow and medicine that she says always takes away her migraines. I am so very thankful for Susan. She supports me and helps me and always makes me feel like I am doing a fabulous job. I am truly so thankful for my presidency and all they do for me and more importantly for the women in our ward. I love them.

I often look around at the women in the ward on Sundays and get tears in my eyes because I am so overwhelmed by gratitude for their goodness and so filled with love for them. I feel like I have had a glimpse of how our Father feels about us, how very much He loves His precious daughters.

My very favorite quote from conference was in Elder Christofferson's talk. He quoted Margaret Nadauld who said, "The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

These ARE the kind of women that I have the great blessing of knowing. They are imperfect, bu they are good and they are trying to be better. I am so thankful for their righteous influence in my life and in the lives of my family.