Tuesday January 21

So I did not have Jury duty. Dad and I sent the kids off to school and then we worked out. We went to a funeral for Virginia Hawkins. She was such a sweet and talented lady, full of love. Madi was her ministering sister and she would have loved to be able to go today...but she had to stay at school. Anyway. It was a beautiful service. We went back and helped clean up after the luncheon. And by then, the kiddos came home from school. Then it was piano practice. We had hamburgers for dinner, and that was yummy.
Emmy sent me a beautiful star for my early birthday present.
It has our 2020 family theme etched on it.
I love it so much!!!! This evening Dad and I had a meeting. Since July, I have been attending ARP meetings with him, almost every Tuesday night. I have come to LOVE these nights. We both gather so much strength from others around us. These meetings really should be for EVERYONE!!!!!!!! Anyway....tonight was especially powerful. We usually have about 5-8 people show up. Today, we kept having people trickle in and we had a total of 20!!!! It was amazing! The spirit you feel there.....your could cut it with a knife! The power we gain from each other, the bonds we form. I am so grateful for this program. Tonight we talked about step 4-which talks all about Truth. There is so much packed onto each step....but this is what I pulled out this evening. There is a paragraph that says: Because of the love and grace of the Savior, you do not have to be what you have been. By calling on the Lord for guidance as you examine your life, you will come to recognize your experiences as learning opportunities. These words hit my heart like a ton of bricks. Everything we go through in this life, EVERYTHING (good and bad), can be used to grow and learn and can be used to HELP OTHERS!!!!!! I am so grateful to have that perspective. Anyway....I hope to share more each week from now on, because this program should be for everyone!!!!! I shared this poem with the group tonight that went along with that paragraph above. I heard it on the 'Dont Miss This' podcast while studying Come Follow Me. I am constantly in awe with how things connect. Like CFM connecting with the step we talked about tonight.... If you are looking, everything is connected. And it is all connected back to the LOVE our Heavenly Father has for us!!!! The Touch of the Master Hand 'Twas battered and scarred,

And the auctioneer thought it

hardly worth his while

To waste his time on the old violin,

but he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bid, good people", he cried,

"Who starts the bidding for me?"

"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"

"Two dollars, who makes it three?"

"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"

But, No,

From the room far back a gray bearded man

Came forward and picked up the bow,

Then wiping the dust from the old violin

And tightening up the strings,

He played a melody, pure and sweet

As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer

With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"

As he held it aloft with its' bow.

"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"

"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"

"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,

Going and gone", said he.

The audience cheered,

But some of them cried,

"We just don't understand."

"What changed its' worth?"

Swift came the reply.

"The Touch of the Masters Hand."

"And many a man with life out of tune

All battered and bruised with hardship

Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd

Much like that old violin

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,

A game and he travels on.

He is going once, he is going twice,

He is going and almost gone.

But the Master comes,

And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,

The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought

By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.

- Myra Brooks Welch