And So it began

"ONCE UPON A TIME"....there came along this little lump...insignificant really when you compare it to the entire world of lumps. That is, right up to the point that it wasn't...insignificant I mean............... and so began my journey.

A NEWER SHADE OF PINK...now I more then SURVIVE...I am learning to THRIVE...

OF COURSE... we all know things are bound to get a little crazy with a surprise around most every corner...not to mention an assortment of bumps and bruises along the way...but I am ever thankful for them all...they have all made me who I am. So buckle up, hold on tight and enjoy the ride thru what I lovingly refer to as LIFE


Sunday, November 6, 2016

Krispy Kreme & Joseph Smith jr (part 4...the end)


We ended this trip with me still sick (week 6) with this weird coughing undiagnoseable bug I picked up a couple of days after my last flight home from our Family Reunion the end of Aug.  BTW...I am soooooo over being sick...just sayin!!  Chest x-rays, blood work and we still got nothing...it's just one of those sicky bugs that makes you sleep sitting up, zaps all your energy but doesn't make you REALLY sick enough to stay in bed....argg...I hate this kind. Again I digress..."SQUIRREL"!

Soooo...we headed home with one last stop in Palmyra, NY...another HUGE church history location....the beginning to be honest.  The Sacred Grove, the Smith home & the Hill Cummorah and now a Temple...all because of the search for God & religion by a 14 yr old simple farm boy.  Some people have called him a fake, a fraud, a con man but let me tell you what an officer of the justice system once said. "All Con men have a pattern and they just don't work like that...and I have known my share.  A conman will always drop the con and move on if it looks like its gonna be blown or get too dangerous...Joseph Smith didn't do either"  You would think that at some point before he was martyred (maybe the tar & feathering...the death of his children....the mob attacks)...he would have cut his losses and walked away....again...HE DIDN'T

As we headed for home I took the quiet time in the car to reflect on those sacred places we visited and how the Holy Ghost touched my spirit and fed me in so many ways  I hadn't realized needed it. I am sooo grateful for following VoR's prompting and making this trip the priority


-Etta May-

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Krispy Kreme & Joseph Smith jr (part 3)


We spent the next and final day in Ohio at the Historic Kirtland site.  It is just down the hill (road) and to the right from the Temple....again the church had the Highway moved to protect the historic villiage site.  Here they have a few more homes restored, including the Newell K Whitney store & home, an old Inn and the saw mill, as well as new homes matching the historic style, built for the current missionaries who work there.  The mill itself was really impressive...it is a rebuilt, fully functional mill but back when it was origianlly built it not only milled the lumber but it produced pot ash which was sold for additonal building funds. The Whitney store & home were places of great revelation too.  It was here that the Word of Wisdom was revealed because of the the smoke & tobacco spit mess of the men who sat in meetings in small rooms...can you even imagine....YUCK!!  Joseph walked into the room and told the men of the revelation which included no tobacco...these faithful men walked over to the fireplace and broke their pipes and threw them in....never to smoke again.  That kind of faith and immediate obedience moves me to sit back and ask myself as to what "pipes" do I need to let go and throw into the fireplace???  I love the fact that we (as humans) have the desire and ability to self-reflect and make the course corrections needed to live an authentic Christ inspired life...another tender mercy

We drove over to the Morely & then the Johnson farms (40 mins away) which were both homes of Joseph & Emma for their time here in Kirtland.  The important Johnson home & farm was bougth & restored a few years ago. What was cool is that it was still a working farm with the original home still lived-in and 85% original so restoration was a smaller undertaking.  The real significance of this home to me was being able to stand in the room and feel the fear of that cold night long ago when Joseph was dragged out of bed into the yard to be tarred & feathered which also resulted in one of his infant twins dying of exposure....another in a long list of lost children for them.  I can't imagine living in that hatred and persecution, always fearful of the mob charging in and forcing me from my home, city, state.  To think that it still goes on in the world today....even in our own countries is mind boggling and makes me so grateful for all my freedoms & especially my personal safety.

They were pushed further and further west trying to out-run the persecution, hate filled mobs, finally trecking 1000's of miles...mostly on foot pushing hand carts...to the great unknown of the American west.  I have driven thru those Utah mountains and now these parts of New England to Ohio and looked out...imagining how daunting each step (especially in the winter) must have been for them. A journey that would test them and ask them to sacrifice EVERYTHING in their quest to be the faithful & obedient people of the Lord.  The total  unselfishness of these humble people...my ancestors...makes it really personal for me.  I will forever be in their debt and sit in awe of their conviction & strength...so that I can be who & where I am today.

This trip was so BEYOND anything I could have expected and SOOO WORTH IT....AMAZING.


-Etta May-