Off into the sunset …

[It has been a while since the last “Relief Society Thoughts” message (the occasional homily-thingies that I write for the women at Church) and this one kind of explains why. It also incorporates a bonus Moods of the Mountain photo plus a recycled one, because they fit.]

For a number of reasons my last 18 months or […]

Recently I attended a meeting at which someone highlighted a little quote from Elder David A Bednar’s April 2014 conference talk in which he said “Happiness is NOT the absence of a load”. The talk is worth reading (see here) but the little quote got me thinking in a slightly different direction.

As some of you may […]

On Saturday I took my triplet nieces and nephew for a bit of an adventure on a pedal-powered railway bogie along the old train line at National Park. This was fine as an idea, until it became apparent that I was going to be the main source of horsepower for the 120kg contraption plus three 8-year-olds […]

All of a sudden it’s December 31, which means it is 2015 tomorrow, and there seems to be a tradition of making new year’s resolutions on such occasions. The change of year seems to bring with it an opportunity to make personal changes, to turn over new leaves, to set off on new paths, to give […]

At this Christmas time I’ve been reflecting on the key characters in the Christmas story, and how faith, hope and charity are central to their actions and motivations.

Think first of Mary: what faith she must have had to accept God’s trust in her, saying “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to […]

I don’t know what it is about the plant Hebe, but I’ve never liked it. Its flowers are pretty, and the leaves have a lovely symmetry to their arrangement, but for some reason it will never get onto my list of favourite plants. It is, in my books at least, botanically unlikeable.

I enjoyed today’s Relief Society […]

In last Sunday’s lesson we discussed the story from the New Testament of Jesus’ visit with Mary and Martha, when Mary sat at the Saviour’s feet while Martha was feeling so “cumbered about much serving” that she entreated the Lord to request that Mary help her. When I asked the class who we thought we might […]

Spring is in the air, and winter’s denuded trees are about to burst forth into blossom and leaf. I took this photo of a magnolia bud on my recent wanderings, and it is bursting with potential. In a day or two its beauty will become evident, but for now it remains hidden and unknown. The plant’s […]

[I’ve decided to start archiving these little homilies that I’ve been writing for the women in my Relief Society group at Church. The “RST” stands for Relief Society Thoughts. More details are at the end of this post.]

In a fit of domesticity yesterday I decided to weed the narrow strip of garden along the driveway, where […]

During a quiet moment at Church today I glanced at my feet and my black Sunday shoes. Try as I might, I couldn’t remember when I’d bought them, except to note that I’m fairly sure it was BEFORE I moved to Melbourne, which makes them over 16 years old. They’re neither flash nor fancy; just a […]