working on the balance beam...

My sister called yesterday and she was talking about receiving an invite that had where the couple was registered for gifts.  Perhaps it's not a modern thing anymore.  Maybe it's old school. She, and me too, are still not totally thinking it's great.  It is practical.

We talked in our lifetime about the anticipation/surprise/delight that would come from gifts that the giver thought the recipient would enjoy.  A lot of time the recipient hadn't even thought of or heard of such an item.  It was a happy, very personal time, a celebration for everyone.

My Mother would make Dixie and I sit down and write out a specific thank you.  We had to state the gift given/appreciation for it/and sign it.  it was then mailed.  Somewhere or other she had bought some little bread and butter note cards.  Little thank you notes.

Of course you know that I enjoy the Royals and how they do things!  (maybe I was a Queen on another planet??)  Well, when I read about Princess Diana and her life that ended up so tragically, I did pick up this tidbit, for those of you in the always busy social group--When she was going to some grand soiree, before the gala she would address her thank you note envelopes, place them on her writing desk and when she got home, no matter how late, she wrote her note-- 

thank you for the lovely visit at your lovely Palace and the lovely imported Japanese Wagyu beef was simply divine. HRH 

It was posted pronto, perhaps delivered by a horse drawn gold carriage, and her deed was done.

Maybe those notes are for days long past when people weren't doing everything lightning fast?  I enjoyed that savoring/contemplating time of writing the note.  At one time I even bought some stationary with my name on it!!  Is that Royal or uppity or what?  I love paper and stationary and note cards.  Nowadays I'm more prone to give some e-cards that I really find beautiful and I seldom send a paper note.  Seldom mail it either.  Hand it to them!

So I find myself having lived most of my life in a more proper time that was molasses slow in movement, and we all pretty much had the same standards of  etiquette.  So my earth time has been lengthy but my mind time, even as old as my body age, has managed to embrace some of the newness of this era.  Only some!!

I just did one that still has me thinking that I'm so with it, so modern, so savvy.  I did not renew my Deseret Church News!!  You read it right!! Not renewing!!  I have subscribed to it for as long as it was available and have loved it.  I realized that I'm actually reading it online and I already know the paper contents when it arrives.  I found myself first scanning for something new and then just stopping even looking through them.  So I made the big decision. Not renewing my Church News!!!

I see more and more the Church pulling me into being modern.  I don't have a cell phone.  I therefore don't text and all the other twitter and tweet and on and on.  I just started FB and the jury is still out on how to really use it and if i really enjoy it.  I do my blog.  I remember starting email and thinking I'd arrived.  Nowadays I'm thinking that is quickly getting outdated.  Prophets have FB.  We are encourage on all counts to embrace the technology of todays world.  Even missionaries are using tablets.  Oh, yes I have my tablet!  if a device can be adorable then that one is my adorable device!  I enjoy it and am amazed at it!! 

Manuals are not really printed anymore! Here comes the wave of the future or has the wave already crested?

Yesterday from Deseret Book--
Our New eCatalog is Available!  40 new products including David Archuleta & "The Peter Potential"

The Church recently released a major update for the LDS Tools mobile app, incorporating a variety of requests based on member feedback  --here

The manual for Young Women (and Young Men) is all online...Come, Follow Me is designed to help youth leaders pattern their teaching after the Savior’s methods, with the goal of helping youth become more converted to the gospel. Learn more by exploring the links below.

Handbook 2: Administering the Church

This handbook is a guide for members of ward and stake councils. It provides a doctrinal foundation for the work of the Church, as well as instructions for administering priesthood quorums and auxiliaries. PDF version

Gospel Library App

Find all of these resources and more on the Gospel Library App.

Blogging. Publishing your life through a blog can be an excellent
way to share with the world what being a member of the Church means to you.

• www.lds.org/topics/internet/blogging?lang=eng

************************************************

and this excellent talk by Elder Ballard....

Be Still, and Know That I Am God

ELDER M. RUSSELL BALLARD

OF THE QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES

CES Devotional for Young Adults • May 4, 2014 • San Diego, California

First is the use of technology. In 2007 and 2008, I spoke to the graduating students at BYU–Hawaii and BYU–Idaho. On those occasions I said, “We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches.”¹ At that time I urged the graduates to use the advances in technology to become involved in the worldwide conversation about the Church. I thought I was rather up to date when I suggested that they share their views on blogs. Since then, I have been introduced to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, and then my secretary told me, just as I was leaving, something about Snapchat. Wow! It seems like the world of technology cannot stand still for even a few minutes.

My cell phone is amazing! Smartphones are truly smart! They provide us so many wonderful opportunities, including accessing information, getting map directions, sharing photos and messages, and even once in a while actually talking to someone.

The modern world in which we now live is ever changing, which in some ways is good and in some ways can be not so good.

 ************************************

Yesterday I had the sweetest thing ever happen about my blog.  A sister, a friend, stopped by and encouraged me to keep blogging.  She had no idea, that in my quest for balance and figuring out tweaking a life course correction-- by attending Temple, praying, immersing myself in Scripture study etc....that blogging was one of many questions in my mind.  Should I continue blogging?  I felt yes but she was the confirming factor.  Just like President Kimball said...the Lord many times answers our prayers through others.  Blogging is not the #1 concern on my list.  it takes time.  it brings in some self-doubt of what do you know/who cares what you think and other little devilish ideas that I don't like to even mention!  I was just wondering if I should keep on.  I am. I admit to loving to blog and loving the readers!! xoxoxox

In my study I found this about balance....

I realize, brothers and sisters, that other suggestions could be added to these. However, I believe that when we focus on a few basic objectives, we are more likely to be able to manage the many demands that life makes on us. Remember, too much of anything in life can throw us off-balance. At the same time, too little of the important things can do the same thing. King Benjamin counseled “that all these things are done in wisdom and order” (Mosiah 4:27).

 Sometimes we need a personal crisis to reinforce in our minds what we really value and cherish. The scriptures are filled with examples of people facing crises before learning how to better serve God and others. Perhaps if you, too, search your hearts and courageously assess the priorities in your life, you may discover, as I did, that you need a better balance among your priorities.

 Not long ago, one of my children said, “Dad, sometimes I wonder if I will ever make it.” The answer I gave to her is the same as I would give to you if you have had similar feelings. Just do the very best you can each day. Do the basic things and, before you realize it, your life will be full of spiritual understanding that will confirm to you that your Heavenly Father loves you. When a person knows this, then life will be full of purpose and meaning, making balance easier to maintain.

M. Russell Ballard, “Keeping Life’s Demands in Balance,” Ensign, May 1987, 13–16