Month: February 2020

Somebody Else Will Do It, Right?

When an opportunity has come up to help someone in need, have you thought, “somebody else will do it, right?“

When an opportunity arose to help someone in need, what trumped my actions was the thought, “somebody else will do it, right?”

As I was briefly browsing Facebook posts, I saw a friend’s request asking for any resources that could help them with a specific challenge they were facing. When looking through the already provided suggestions in the comments, even though I did not see the resource I would recommend, I did not quickly respond, in fact, I did not respond at all. 

I questioned if my recommended resource was even all that applicable to their particular situation and where I did not have the direct source link to post it in the comments right then, I opted to pass up the opportunity to add my suggestion, reasoning that somebody else will do it, right?

It was not long after I saw a follow-up post from this friend where they had compiled a list of all the references they had received so as to share them with others who may be interested as well. It was a tender mercy that though I hedged providing a resource, I was happy to see that my suggestion, which I was grateful was given to my friend by someone else, was on the list.

Several days later, I once again saw a request from another friend, friend B, reaching out on a community page seeking to find a consultant with a specific network marketing company for to purchase desired products from them and at that very same time I had a friend, friend C, who happened to be hosting an online party selling the very goods my friend B was wanting to get. Neither of them knew each other. 

At first I postponed doing anything and sat back for a number of days thinking once again, somebody else will do it, right? I was certain that either somebody else would respond to my friend B’s request guiding them to a consultant or that surely a consultant would see their message and respond to it. However, after a few days passed, I reached out to my friend B to see if they were still looking for a consultant and when I shared with them about the friend who was hosting the online party, friend B was interested in being connected with friend C. 

I had not been in contact with my friend hosting the party in years and was unsure if the cell number I had for them was still their number. As I felt uncomfortable texting them in the event it was not their number anymore, I felt it safer to call the number instead. After a few rings, it was a tender mercy my friend C picked up and we had a wonderful conversation catching up with one another. And, it was a tender mercy that I was able to help both friends and connect them with each other.

When have you hedged helping a friend out thinking somebody else will do it and sure enough somebody else did as well as when have you been able to connect two of your friends together who did not know one another and each had something that could help the other? 

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

When In Doubt, Throw It Out

As the quality of the hamburger was questioned and the phrase “when in doubt, throw it out” came to mind, fortunately the meat was just fine and there was no harm in eating it.

Whenever the quality of food comes into question, I naturally lean towards following this commonly sound advice, “when in doubt, throw it out”.

On this cold, cold winter day, I was looking forward to making a friend’s homemade chili recipe for dinner, a very simple and easy recipe that is my go-to on days like today:

1 lb ground beef

1/4 to a whole chopped onion (if desired). If using dried onions, reconstitute first.

1 package taco flavoring  

1 16 oz can corn  

1 16 oz can kidney bean  

1 28 oz can diced tomato  

1 15 oz can tomato sauce  

Brown meat and cook onion, then add rest of recipe, simmer 20-25 min.

Earlier in the week as I went grocery shopping with my children, whom one of them, all on their own, made a list of healthy food choices they desired for school lunches and family dinners and took on the shopping, all on their own, with me by their side, it was awesome that included among the ingredients was hamburger. 

In an interest to have warm comfort food on this brrr of a night, I asked my child if I could use the hamburger they originally intended for a different meal to make the delicious chili and they were on board. 

In preparing to cook the meat that had been in the fridge for a few days, after opening the tied grocery bag to get to the produce bag that had the packaged tube of hamburger inside, I pulled out a knife from a knife block to slice apart the packaged hamburger across the middle lengthwise.  

Before cutting into the packaging, I noticed a small hole in the wrapping. I was concerned that the hamburger may be bad. I began to question whether I should cook the meat or not. The phrase, “when in doubt, throw it out” surfaced to the forefront of my mind, but then I considered the possibility that perhaps I incidentally nicked the outer plastic covering with the knife as I had it up against the tube while looking away briefly. 

As I contemplated what I should do, throw the meat out or cook it, I decided that once I split open the tube, if the meat was red and looked fresh then it was good to use and if it was a tainted grey or a faded brown in color, it was bad and I would throw it out in a heartbeat. It was not worth my or my family’s physical health to cook up ten dollars of meat if it was bad.

As all I had to go off of at this point was the fact that there was a hole in the packaging, a repeated question I kept tossing back and forth in my mind was whether it was there at the time of purchase or did it come about by me. In trying to discern between which of the two considerations was the actual case, I felt more so confident it was the later. 

As I began slicing the package open, I stopped to check the expiration date and was relieved it was still a couple days away. Once I had the tube open, it was a happy sight and a tender mercy to see that all of the meat was red and looked fresh.

Time and again, I automatically when in doubt, throw it out, however, on this occasion, it was a tender mercy I felt a peaceful calm that the meat was just fine. It did not feel good to throw it out. What felt good was to cook it and eat it.

Upon cooking the chili, even though doubt creeped in all the while I was browning the hamburger and the chili was simmering, I was able to over and over again not allow my thoughts of doubt to take over and to stay aligned with the stillness of the peace and assurance I felt that the hamburger was just fine and that our family would not be harmed by eating it. We thoroughly enjoyed the yummy chili and we did not get sick. 

When have you questioned the quality of food you were about to prepare to serve yourself and others and though the phrase “when in doubt, throw it out” was considered, you felt a peaceful calm the food was just fine and no one got sick from eating it?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Struggling With Something That Is Really Hard

Struggling with something that is really hard.

I have been struggling with something that is really hard. I have been struggling with writing. 

Why is writing so hard for me? Even though I’ve been blogging for two years now, (my first published post) writing for me has not gotten any easier, if anything it seems to have become more difficult. Why do I blog? Because I have tender mercy moment experiences that I have felt strongly impressed and guided to share with others and the means I have felt impressed to do it is through a blog. 

I definitely appreciate and value each finished blog post, however, what it takes to get to that point is super hard, hours of editing so that my description of my experiences are concise, cohesive, and coherent. Though it takes me a long time to come to a place that I feel comfortable publishing most post entries, I am pleased with the end result, albeit imperfect. 

As I have been struggling a great deal writing out my tender mercy moments, it has been a tremendous tender mercy that I have received divine help.

For days now, despite there being no shortage of tender mercy moments, personal and sacred in nature, I have experienced a lull in not having a tender mercy moment I felt impressed to blog about publicly and considered that maybe my time and season after two years of blogging was coming to an end.

While being in this unusual space of abeyance, it was a tender mercy an impression to post an earlier published entry entered my mind. As I wondered which entry I should repost, it was another tender mercy that of all of my published posts, I was drawn to one in particular from a year and half ago. I don’t know the reason why it was that specific one other than I felt an assurance that it would touch and bless at least one reader. 

Although it felt strange to repost an earlier entry, at the same time it felt right. Ironically, after reposting it, I began listening to a Virtual Couch Podcast episode by Tony Overbay in which it so happened the episode I selected was one he originally recorded eight or nine months earlier and was replaying it for the reason that the relevancy of the message was applicable just as much today as it was back when it was first recorded and there were now new listeners to his podcast whom may not have heard the episode when it first came out, me being one of them.

In addition to that amazing tender mercy, I then recalled how grateful I have been when Jordan Page of funcheaporfree.com has reposted her grandma’s banana bread recipe here and there on her blog. As both Tony and Jordan have been sharing content online for much longer than I, knowing that they too repost prior entries to their site was a comforting tender mercy. 

On this day, it was another tender mercy as a family member reached out to me asking about something they hoped I could send to them, that while looking for it, I came across a book on a shelf in our home that I didn’t even know we had from a class one of our children had taken some time ago entitled, “Mindful Writing”. 

As I browsed through the first chapter, it was a tender mercy I felt additional comfort when I came across several sentences by the author, Brian Jackson, relaying the struggle and challenge it is to write, “Learning to be a good writer is a lifelong process that will challenge you in every new rhetorical situation. I’m still learning how to write, after thirty-five years of doing it and fifteen years of teaching it.” … “Writing—and I ain’t tellin’ you anything new here—is hard. It’s a challenging task.” … “As I said, I’ve been writing and studying writing for a long time, and I still struggle to get my writing where I want it to be.” 

Why did his words bring me comfort? Because for the past two years of blogging I’ve been waiting for my weakness in writing to become a strength and realizing that other writers struggle with writing too was comforting.

When have you been struggling with something that is really hard, waiting for the day when you’ll master it, only to realize and find comfort that others with seemingly more experience than you in a similar discipline struggle too?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Not In Our Neck Of The Woods

While in a location a distance away from home, it happened that a well liked fast food establishment not in our neck of the woods was nearby.

Late afternoon on a Saturday, as one of my children and I were leaving from a districtwide school event they had participated in that was a distance from our home, it was a tender mercy that a particular fast food establishment our family enjoys eating at but is not in our neck of the woods was in close proximity to where the event was being held.

Following most functions, I would typically just go straight home, however, after being at the event almost a full day with very little interaction with my child, I felt impressed upon our departure that it would be a great opportunity to spend one-on-one time together with them by going out to eat before returning home.

When I asked about their preference on where they wanted to go, they opened up their maps application on their phone and saw that nearby was a well liked fast food restaurant we don’t have in our neck of the woods.

It was a tender mercy that this specific establishment was only minutes from where we were at the time and it was a tender mercy that I acted on the impression and seized the awesome opportunity we had to spend one-on-one time together and enjoy a special conversation about those things of interest for them while each eating a tasty hamburger, warm fries, and a delicious milkshake. 

When have you been in a location a distance away from your home and it happened that a well liked establishment not in your neck of the woods was nearby? And, when have you seized an awesome opportunity to spend one-on-one time with your children?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Matter Of Fact Plan Of Action

When plans changed unexpectedly, I did not skip a beat as a revised matter of fact plan of action transpired.

When my original plan for getting our kids to school changed unexpectedly, I did not skip a beat as a revised matter of fact plan of action transpired. 

On this winter morning, once we were all in the car ready to go, I started it up and noticed the tire pressure light was on. At first, I assumed the light was indicating a decrease in tire pressure attributed to the cold 37 degree weather, but as I recalled a prior tire incident, I immediately felt inclined to walk around the car and quickly glance at each of the tires before driving away. 

In doing so, I saw that one of the back tires appeared low. While accessing the condition of the tire, it was a tender mercy that right at that time, my husband had just stepped out of the house to leave for work and observed what I was doing. He came over immediately to assist. As I knew I would not be able to go directly to a shop to get the tire repaired before getting my kids to school on time, right away, I knew what to do. I decisively and proactively, without hesitation, went into Plan B action mode. 

While my husband was using an air compressor to add air to the tire, I shared with him my matter of fact plan of action to take our younger kids to school in the car used by our teenage drivers who were not using it at the time. It was a tender mercy the car was available as a backup and the worries I would have had about the possibility of the low tire going flat at any point during the approximate one and a half hour roundtrip commute was alleviated. And, as there was a concern on this very cold day whether the heater in the backup car worked, it was a tender mercy it did and we were warmed up fairly quickly. 

Though I had plans to take our car in to have the tire repaired preceding a scheduled meeting I would be facilitating not long after returning home from dropping off our kids, after calling the shop and learning of the lengthy wait time, due to the tight time constraint, I once again moved forward with a revised matter of fact plan of action to instead go to the shop following my meeting and before picking up our kids from school. 

By that time, it was then early afternoon and over the course of several hours since my husband had added air to the tire, the tire pressure had dropped from 35 psi to close to 15 psi. Although I was quite nervous about the slow leak causing the psi to drop so significantly and worried if the low tire pressure would hold up long enough to get to the shop 20 minutes away, it was a tender mercy the tire was not yet altogether flat. 

In hopes of being able to make it to the shop without getting a flat, I attempted to fill up the tire using the air compressor, but I didn’t know how to use it and when I looked up a YouTube video for a demonstration, it wasn’t any help either. So, I placed the air compressor and an extension cord in the trunk of my car and prayed and prayed and prayed that first and foremost I would make it all the way to the shop without losing anymore air. And secondly, if I did lose more air, I was prepared and prayerful that someone along the way would be able to help me.

Before leaving our home, I examined the tire once again and saw where a heavy duty nail of sorts had become lodged in the tire. Despite my naivety of how physics works, I was hopeful and optimistic that as the tire rotated around and around while in route to the shop, the pressure on the nail as it butted up against the pavement over and over again would lock and seal any air from escaping till I got to the tire shop. 

Along the way, although I felt anxious, I tried really hard to keep my mind focused on trusting in the Lord and staying relaxed. It was a wonderful tender mercy that not only did I make it safely to the shop without getting a flat tire, it was super amazing where now that I only had 1 hour before I would need to leave to pick up my kids from school that a garage bay was open and available when I arrived and I was able to pull right in before several other customers came in following behind me and my tire, which was discovered to have also had a screw in it too, was fixed right away for a very minimal charge. 

All in all, it was a tender mercy that before leaving home to take our kids to school, I became aware of the tire that was low before it became a full-fledged flat tire.

When have you had an experience to which you became aware of a situation before it resulted in something more so problematic? And, when have you had plans change unexpectedly and you were able to proactively with decisiveness move instantaneously forward with a revised matter of fact plan of action? 

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

It Didn’t Make Sense, Nonetheless…

Upon receiving a spontaneous prompting to purchase raspberry lemonade, though it didn’t make sense, nonetheless, the impression to go and do was acted on.

It Didn’t Make Sense, Nonetheless…

As much as I did not want to go to the grocery store this evening, I was grateful for the deliberate focus I had on what all I needed to get and that the menu items for the meals I had planned out for at least the next couple of days all fit in a mini shopping cart. As I was ready to check out, I felt impressed to go all the way to the back of the store in the cold section and get some raspberry lemonade. I did not know the reason for the prompting and though it didn’t make sense, nonetheless I went ahead and followed through with it. 

Typically it is not a food item that I purchase on a regular basis, only on a rare occasion if there’s a coupon or it’s on sale. Remarkably, in conjunction with the impression, it was a tender mercy that the lemonade happened to be on sale. As I purchased two bottles along with our other groceries, brought them home and placed them in our fridge, one of my children noticed and they were pleased. I wondered if maybe it was meant for them, but it didn’t feel like it and so again I still didn’t know the reason for purchasing the raspberry lemonade.

The following night, it seemed fitting to have one of the bottles of raspberry lemonade as just part of our family meal. It tasted delicious and was enjoyed by everyone, however, there was nothing significant that stood out answering the why I felt impressed to specifically purchase the raspberry lemonade and so I was still curious as to the reason. 

Later that evening at the close of the night I received a text message from a friend expressing concern about a mutual friend who was struggling and reaching out for connection. 

Earlier in the week, I felt prompted to message the struggling friend prior to coming to know that they were going through a hard time, but received no response back. As this friend continued to be on my mind for days, I prayed for them and asked Heavenly Father what I could do for them. I was impressed to place their name on a prayer roll inside one of the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so that not only myself, but others as well could pray for them too. However, that would have to wait a couple days until the temple was open to be able to do so. 

In the meantime, when I received the text from the friend about our mutual friend, I once again reached out and asked the struggling friend if they would like to get together. Despite their desire for connection, they replied back that per what they were going through, the timing was not good. I then asked what would help them the most right at that time. They quickly responded that they were in much need of prayers to which I replied that I would definitely do that and at the end of the text message I added a hug and a prayer emoji. 

After our correspondence, it became clear to me that the other bottle of raspberry lemonade was for this struggling friend. However, a part of me felt a little uncomfortable giving them the raspberry lemonade as I was concerned that their perception would be that I was sending a message for them to turn their “lemons into lemonade” and to just get over what they were going through rather than the pure compassion and empathy I felt for them. 

That concern was short lived as I knew I was guided to specifically get the raspberry lemonade for reasons I did not know as well as the thought that when food has been brought to me, I have felt comforted and happy that somebody had thought of me and took the time to bring something to me especially at a time when I’ve been hurting.

The following afternoon I stopped by their home and though it appeared they were there as their family cars were in the driveway, I did not expect them to come to the door. After knocking and waiting a short couple of minutes, I placed a grocery bag with the raspberry lemonade inside on their door knob and texted them to let them know I left it. 

Although I didn’t know anything about my friend’s circumstance or situation, only that they were struggling and going through a very hard time, I knew there was a purpose in getting the raspberry lemonade and though initially it didn’t make sense, nonetheless as I acted on the impression, it was a tender mercy I was able to bless them during their time of need. 

I learned later through a thank you text from the struggling friend a couple of primary whys behind the raspberry lemonade in particular, one being that it is a favorite drink for most of the family members in their household.

When have you received a spontaneous prompting to purchase a random item, which at the time it didn’t make sense, nonetheless, you acted on the impression to go and do and later came to know of the inspirational reason why?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.