Today, like every Sunday, we went to church. We sat in sacrament meeting and sang hymns in between speakers. Several of the Youth presented talks today. They spoke of the importance of standing up for what is right, defending Christ and living up to what we know to be true.

The closing song was "The Lord Is My Light" Words: Isaac Watts, Music: John Hatton

The Lord is my light, then why should I fear?

By day and by night his presence is near.

He is my salvation from sorrow and sin;

This blessed assurance the Spirit doth bring.

The Lord is my light; tho clouds may arise,

Faith, stronger than sight, looks up through the skies

Where Jesus forever in glory doth reign.

Then how can I ever in darkness remain?

The Lord is my light; the Lord is my strength.

I know in his might I'll conquer at length.

My weakness in mercy he covers with pow'r,

and walking by faith, I am blest ev'ry hour.

The Lord is my light, my all and in all.

There is in his sight no darkness at all.

He is my Redemer, my Savior, and King.

With Saints and with angels his praises I'll sing.

I love the hymns! They feed my soul and increase my understanding. They soften my heart.

Mere words don't have the power of the hymns. Inspired hymns to go straight to my heart and fill it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spjkgMpVDWQ&feature=related

I love going to church. It is such a privledge to be around people who live righteous lives and seek the spirit. When I am struggling and in need of help, I can count on there being someone there who understands and can help me to understand also. There are also many opportunities to serve and help others. I am made better through association with them. I want to be with these Saints forever.

Thirteen Turtle Day

As part of our faith & works in action, we have begun to do more walking together. The closest location for this activity is about a mile away, at Gene Coulon Park. If you walk from one end to the other (including walkouts on the docks & all the way to the Boeing Renton plant in front of the waterfront condos) it's about 2.75 miles round trip. Gentle paved slopes, beautiful greenery, flowering trees & bushes & lots of animal life.

When we walk in the evening, we see more turtles than in the early day. Most days, we might see 2-4 turtles sunning themselves on rocks & logs floating in the water. One day a few weeks ago, we saw THIRTEEN! They were everywhere. Big ones, Little ones, green backs, black backs, coppery-rust backs with green or yellow bellies. Some loners, some sunning in groups. It's a highlight of our walk to watch for these gentle creatures.

Caution: Faith & Works in Progress

We have been working on putting our lives in order, reaching for a higher plane. This last month we reached a major goal....

We are finally out of debt! (Yeah Dave Ramsey!)

Except for our home in Oregon, we have no monthly debt payments, not directly associated with our neccesary living expenses. (i.e. rent, electric, gas, food etc.) It feels great! We are now preparing & saving money to stay out of debt. My six year old car will soon need major transmission work, we want to pay cash, not make payments for it's repair.

I love the feeling of being out of debt! We've come a long way. I never want to go there again.

Another way that we're putting our lives in order is to be more careful about what we eat. A couple of months ago, we adopted a new eating plan that eliminates sugar and allows moderate amounts of lean meats, healthy carbs, fruits & vegetables. We measured ourselves when we started & again at six weeks and were surprised at the results.

We each lost 6 inches of belly fat! I had to remeasure twice I thought there had been a mistake.


Tom won't go shopping for new pants yet,(frugal habits) he just keeps cinching up his belt.

We're planning a major wardrobe update in July.

I feel so much better. My health issues have diminished. I have more energy. I'm happier and more peaceful. It's worth giving up sugar to feel that way. It reminds me of Shadrack, Meshack & Abednago in the Old Testament. They wouldn't eat the kings' rich food, because they knew their bodies would be healthier without it. They eventually ran faster & learned more than the rest of their group because they treated their bodies well.

Faith & Works in Progress.