Beyond the Mark

Greetings All -

Hope you have all been able to dig out of the frozen moisture that dropped on us last night.  For those of you who did not receive such blessings, they will come.  It was an unexpected dropping on our end, but we are well and grateful for the health to dig out.

This week my thoughts turn to Alma 34:28 -

"And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those that stand in need - I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things,  behold your prayers is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who d deny the faith."

Back story, I was talking to Tall Man this week, who is currently trying to condition himself for a physical test at work.  He talked about his plan and his progress, which seems to be on track.  However, as I have pondered this verse this week, I wondered if sometimes, like this verse suggests, we need to be doing more than just conditioning for the test.  Shouldn't we be going the extra mile. 

If the Lord, or anyone for that matter, asks us to run 1.5 miles in a certain time span, shouldn't we be conditioning ourselves to run 3.  That way if we find ourselves struggling during the test, we know we have been conditioned to go the distance and beyond.  We will have the strength to dig deep and push ourselves a little further.

If we read this verse in that frame of thought, what is it conditioning us for?  The verses I have pondered from this chapter in the previous weeks have talked about praying for our needs and involving the Lord in our lives.  Going the extra mile, not only put the lord in our lives, but the lives of others as well, by just going a little further.

I will note the small caveat  in this verse, right in the middle, "...if ye have...".  The Lord does not expect us to go further, faster, or stronger than we have the ability to.  Why?  Because He is teaching to the masses.  If all of us are living according to the principles outlined in this verse, there will be someone there to help us with our short comings, just as we are able to help others in theirs.  We have each been blessed with different talents and resources.  The idea is that we share what we have to make us all whole.

Noodle it.

Our Week -

We celebrated another year with the Queen this week.  It was wonderful to honor such a blessing to our lives.  She is still doing her best to occupy her time.  We are hoping her physicians will release some of her restrictions this week and she will be able to return some regular activities.  Even though she has been somewhat restricted, she found her way to the office to help out, on her own times, just because she is that kind of person.

The Professor is a little anxious this week.  She is coming upon her second dose and concerned what it will do to her.  Her siblings have her worried.  We are hoping it will be a smooth transistion.

Tall Man on the other hand, received his second dose.  And like Puddin, it knocked him down for the count.  We are praying for a speedy recovery.  He has been working hard to condition, as previously mentioned.  We are all hoping for success there as well.  Ehl-Bo is taking things one day at a time and Lego is growing like a weed.  We had a blast throwing sticks and stones this weekend.

Puddin is getting ready to transition back to graves and Lady Hawkins is gearing up for the E.R. this week.  We are excited for the adventures they will share.

SnackPack is jumping into the next course on his list and making music with the band.