Day 230, September 30

I found the following story in the book COLOR YOUR FUTURE by Taylor Hartman, Phd.  (I highly recommend this book.)

A great king called all his wise men throughout the kingdom and requested that they determine the most important truth he should live by in life.  The wise men studied and debated for days before coming to agreement on the following advice.

"Your honor," they said, after much research, "we must tell you that the greatest truth you should live by comes in a simple phrase."

"Well, what is it?" he impatiently demanded.

"There is no free lunch," they said.

At first the king was greatly displeased.  He thought they were making a mockery of his request.  With time, however, he discovered, the power in these few words of wisdom.


When I started reading the story, I smugly assumed that I could guess what the wise men would advise the king.  They would, I knew, tell him that love is the greatest principle.  I was wrong.

Love IS a great principle, but it was not the counsel these learned men gave:  "There is no free lunch."

We live in a society where "a free lunch" is expected, indeed, demanded by many people.  When that free lunch fails to materialize, they become resentful, angry, even bitter.  "But we've always been given a free lunch in the past," they protest.  They don't know how to survive without a free lunch.

You may know some of these people.  They are the ones who give a half day's work for a full day's pay.  They are the ones who demand others serve them when they offer no service of their own.  They are the ones who "borrow" money with no intention of paying it back.  They are the ones who berate and belittle others while expecting respect from those whom they humiliate.

Fortunately, there are others, the people who give a full day's work, who give service without thought of being served, who repay any borrowed money, who build up rather than tear down.

So, for today, I am grateful for those people who shun "a free lunch."

Day 229, September 29

Yesterday I wrote about prices and choices.  Lately I've been wondering about some of the choices I've made, the prices I've paid.  some of them were bargains; others have cost me dearly.

A choice my husband and I made early in our marriage was that I would remain home with our children while he worked.  This was the right choice for our family.  We paid a price for that decision in lost income.  At the same time, we received value in knowing that our children were being raised in our home with our values.

Another choice we made was to always pay tithing.  Once again, we paid a price for that choice.  And once again, we received value for it.

Not all of my choices have been as wise.  And for my foolishness, I paid a price.  In some things, I am still paying a price.

So, for today, I am grateful for wise choices.

Day 228, September 28

"Everything has a price."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love to go to garage sales.  Sometimes prices are listed; sometimes they are not.  But there is a price, whether it be a nickel or five dollars or fifty dollars on everything. 

We pay a price in everything we do or don't do.   We get value for some prices we pay.  For example, paying tithing is a bargain.  We can never get ahead of the Lord.  Serving others is another bargain.  In each case, we pay a price, whether in money or effort or some other sacrifice, but the reward for our obedience is growing closer to the Lord and to others.

There is a price for neglecting our health.  There is a price for neglecting work.  There is a price for neglecting relationships.    These prices will never be bargains.  We may not cognize the price right away; it will come due at a later time, when it may be too late to rectify the neglect.

Our choices always come with a price tag.

So, for today, I am grateful for those times when I get value for my choices.

Day 227, September 27

A church lesson last Sunday was entitled "Stand Strong in Holy Places," based on a talk by Elder Robert D. Hales, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

Edler Hales gave the following story:

When I was in the ninth grade, I returned from my first out-of-town game with the varsity baseball team.  My father discerned that the long busy ride home I had witnessed language and behavior that was not in harmonoy with the standards of the gospel.  Being a professional artist, he sat down and drew a picture of a knight--a warrior capable of defending castles and kingdoms.

"As he drew and read from the scriptures, I learned how to be a faithful priesthood holder--to protect and defend the kingdom of God.  The words of the Apostle Paul were my guide:

'Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

'Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.

'And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace:

'Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

'And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.''"

Never has it been more important to "stand strong in holy places" as it is in today's world, where evil is portrayed as good.  Evil will never be good, no matter what spin is put on it. 

So, for today, I am grateful for the reminder to "stand strong."

Day 226, September 26

A few days ago Larry and I had the privilege of attending the temple with our son Hyrum and his wife Cara.  When I stepped into that holy place, I felt the worry and stress of the last week fall away. 

As we did saving ordinances for those people who had not had a chance on this earth to accept the gospel, I experienced a quiet peace that had been conspicuously absent over the last week.  The knowledge that I was doing something for someone who could not do it for herself was both uplifiting and rewarding.  And isn't that what Heavenly Father wants us all to do?  To help someone else, in whatever way we can.

Certainly the temple is not the only place we can do something for another.  Opportunities abound everywhere.  But, there, in the temple, I understood more clearly my purpose here on earth.

So, for today, I am grateful for the healing peace of the temple.

Day 225, September 25

Can you stand one more posting about the acts of kindness and compassioin during this time as our area recovers from the flood? (I promise, I won't write about this any more.  Well, really, I'm not sure that I won't, but I'll try not to.)

In our neighborhood is a sweet lady who has turned her home into a refuge for homeless cats.  She takes in strays, cats who have been abandoned, kittens in danger of going to a "kill-shelter."  She does this on her own because she loves all of Heavenly Father's creatures.  Recently she sent out an email saying that her resources are stretched as she has taken in pets, both cats and dogs, displaced when their "owners" lost their homes.

What a compassionate thing to do.  Larry and I took over some supplies and thanked her for her selfless work.  On her website is the sentence "It is the mark of a civilized society in how we treat all creatures."

So, for today, I am grateful for a woman who loves "all creatures great and small."

Day 224, September 24

The news seems to be filled with stories of teenagers acting badly.  Whether they be celebrities or just "regular" teens, the media delights in telling us that the nation's young people are selfish, uncaring, and immature.

I have a different kind of story to share:   Loveland's Gateway Baptist Church suffered severe damage during the recent flood.  Mud and water poured into the church.  Community members showed up in droves.  Among those who came to help were the youth of another church. 

They worked diligently, cleaning, carrying away damaged pieces,  digging out mud, etc.  The pastor of the church was so impressed with them that he asked their headers, "What do you teach your young people to make them so caring?" So great was his confidence and trust in these teenagers that he gave them his credit card to go to the store to buy supplies.

These boys and girls performed back-breaking labor to help people they didn't know, to aid a church not of their faith.  They did it because they cared, because they have been taught well by their parents and leaders.

So, for today, I am grateful for righteous youth.