Category: Remembrance

Almost Burnt To A Crisp

The cookies were expected to be almost burnt to a crisp after being forgotten about while they were baking, however, once returning to the oven after being reminded of them, the cookies were only slightly overcooked.

It was a close call. The last batch of cookies I was baking almost burnt to a crisp when I stepped away for a time and completely forgot about them.

What would normally be a structured, planned out day gathering together with a congregation of families, just like that, due to an unprecedented turn of events, the day became very casual and laid back.

As Spring Break was coming to a close, I received word that not only would school be out for another week as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but also that all church worship and other activities held in our church building would be cancelled for sometime to come.

With the hype of the virus spreading and crowds of people going to the store for supplies, it seemed a great opportunity to assess where our family stood with what food and nonfood items we had on hand.  

As I organized our fridge to better see what all we had in it as well as to rearrange and place all fresh items in the back and any older food items to be used up first in the front, I came across a couple of ready-to-bake cookie packages to which the sell-by date on them had recently passed. Not wanting to waste what I considered was still good food, I baked up all the cookies.   

Minutes after placing the last batch in the oven, per my desire to have myself and our children join my husband who was outside prepping our seasonal vegetable garden, I observed how much time remained till the cookies would be done and noted that I had plenty of time to help some before the timer went off. 

I stepped away for what I intended would be only for about 15 minutes. But, as I became fully engrossed in planting seeds with the family, I lost track of time and completely forgot all about the cookies. And, being that I was outside, I unfortunately never heard the oven timer go off. However, it was a tender mercy a random thought reminded me that the cookies were still baking. 

As I quickly ran back inside to remove the cookies from the oven, I was prepared to see the entire batch almost burnt to a crisp, but it was a tender mercy that when the timer went off, the oven automatically turned off as well and the cookies were only slightly overcooked. 

When have you completely forgotten about food you had in the oven as you became engrossed in another activity while it was baking, yet before it almost burnt to a crisp, a random thought reminded you of the food and upon your quick return to the oven, the food was only slightly overcooked? 

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.

The Importance Of Being Kind To Myself

A reflection on the importance of being kind to myself came one day as I noticed when some of my hair that draped in front of my shirt was in the shape of a heart.

The importance of being kind to myself came in a couple of different ways today. One being associated with maintaining my physical health and the other being associated with a shortcoming. 

While attending a Mindful Parenting class earlier in the day, I shared with those present my struggle with setting aside those things I become busy doing to stop and eat. Immediately, a mom sitting beside me handed me a KIND Granola Bar that she had with her in her purse. As I quickly scanned over the granola bar, I initially noted the nutritional value of the ingredients inside and was most excited about the nuts. I really like the health factor of nuts and the energy it provides. 

As the capitalization of the brand name of the granola bar also caught my eye and stood out to me, it was a tender mercy how the word KIND resonated and had a very profound meaning for me in that moment. It was a personal message to me of the importance of being kind to myself. I do things to take care of my intellectual, spiritual, mental, and emotional well-being but not to the same degree for my physical well-being, particularly taking time to eat. I enjoy food. I just prioritize other activities over eating and I don’t multitask both at the same time. It is a conscious effort I have to make to stop and eat. The tender mercy message reminded me to continue to be intentional in this area. 

This profound statement to be kind to myself helped me later in the evening too when I commented on a prompt I posted on my Tender Mercy Moments Facebook group and assumed at the time I sent it that it made sense, but later realized my response lacked clarity in effectively connecting to the prompt.

When I went back to the original post an hour or so after to add a tie in sentence, I was hoping and praying that my friends would return back to the message and reread the revised comment. Though I felt embarrassed for my faux pas, I giggled as I remembered to be kind to myself. It was a tender mercy I was able to accept my deficiency in writing and move forward without letting it set me back as well as trust that Heavenly Father would help in a way that whomever could benefit from my updated response would at some point read it. 

After the two occurrences, I went in search for an inspirational song that spoke to being kind to myself. Over and over again I found myself playing the song “Say Love” by Hilary Weeks. Though the lyrics are about sharing words of love and kindness to others, I recognized how valuable saying words of love and kindness to myself is when I get down on myself in those times I fall short and mess up. 

Another tender mercy moment of reflection on the importance of being kind to myself happened not that long ago while sitting in a parking lot after dropping off my kids at school and I noticed when I looked down in my lap for a moment that some of my hair that had fallen forward over the front of my shirt was in the shape of a heart. 

When have you been reminded in a profound way the importance of being kind to yourself? 

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.*

Unused Gift Card Balance

Often times, after using a gift card and not spending all that is on it right away, I put it in my purse and forget about redeeming the remaining balance with later purchases.

Today, it was a tender mercy that after my husband and I had been shopping and we were at the register ready to pay for our purchase with a credit card, all of a sudden I remembered the store gift card I had in my purse. Although it had very little left on it, I was so pleased to zero it out and not have the money forgotten about and unused. 

When have you been at a register ready to checkout and you remembered a store gift card you had with you that had a remaining balance on 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.*

Remembering The Kleenex

On the designated day of the week I had set aside to go bulk shopping mainly for one essential purpose and reason, I could not remember when I arrived what that specific item was that I had planned to get. Other household/food items came to my mind, but the #1 product I needed the most was elusive. I could not rack my brain or recall what it was so I prayed that if I saw the item, it would jog my memory.

It was a tender mercy when shortly after my internal prayer I saw a large pile of tissue boxes in a middle aisle and I was elated. That is what I needed more than anything else. I had been going through facial tissues very quickly over several days and I needed to replenish my stock as my seasonal allergies were acting up nonstop. Ironically, it wasn’t my sniffles that reminded me of what I needed above all else, it was seeing the stack of tissue boxes after saying a prayer. 

When have you gone to a store and forgotten what you most intended to get and while struggling to remember, you were pleased as you were reminded of what it was when you saw the product while shopping for other needed items on your list? 

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.*

Boost of Energy

After being out all morning running errands, I was so tired and so exhausted and I really wanted to go home to take a nap, but I hadn’t made it to the grocery store yet. While traveling in the direction towards home, I debated whether or not to stop and buy food at that time or wait until later in the day to go back out. Although it was OH-SO inconvenient to do any more shopping when I felt drained and not entirely or altogether with-it, it WAS convenient that I’d be passing right by the store on my way home, so I decided to stop. As I mentally reviewed the handful of produce, grains, and dairy I planned to get, I recalled an important ingredient to add to my list. 

On a prior grocery shopping trip, I purchased a main ingredient to make a specific meal, however, I didn’t think about getting the complimentary ingredient that would complete the meal. Needless to say, the meal was not prepared and the purchased item sat in the fridge untouched until I happened to notice the day of when it had reached its “best by” date. In not wanting the food to go to waste, it was a tender mercy I remembered to add the complimentary item to my list. In addition, considering my sluggish state, it was a tender mercy when I arrived at the store, I received an enthusiastic phone call from a loved one that woke me up some. I gained just enough energy to accomplish what grocery shopping I needed to do. 

When have you felt spent while out running errands and you experienced a boost of energy that helped you complete what you wanted to accomplish; and, while tired and exhausted, when have you remembered something important you needed at a very fitting time?

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.*

First Things First

As I was taking one of my children to school, it was pressing on my mind to speak with them about something of concern that occurred days earlier in our community. However, as much as I wanted to talk about it and hear their thoughts, I could see they were studying for a couple of class exams. 

At that moment, it was a tender mercy that back to back I not only recalled and reflected on a specific instance I felt an appreciation when I was not disrupted and broken away from something that was important to me when I was a student like them, I also heard the still small voice whisper, “not now, it can wait”.

The recollection of how much I valued the time and space given to me and wanting to give the same to my child and also having received the gentle impression helped me make the decision to hold off the dialogue for a later, more appropriate, time. As I considered the impact my conversation may have had on them and how it may have effected how they went into the exam, I felt that what was best then was for them to focus and concentrate on their efforts and desire to do well.   

The better time came after school on the way home after the weight, stress, and pressure of studying and testing was behind them and their time and mental energy was not split among two very different and significant matters, but the focus was on one crucial item at a time.

When has a remembrance of an impactful personal experience and a soft impression guided you to when and how to share a pressing matter of yours with someone else? 

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.*

Hanging Holiday Pictures

I LOVE Christmas! Decorating, however, is very cumbersome! I don’t know about you, but taking down what I have up year round to hang up holiday seasonal decorations is a lot of work. Slowly, but surely, I’m setting up a little each day. Today, it was a tender mercy that I remembered something simple I figured out last year that makes decorating a lot easier. I was thrilled!

When it comes to pictures, I discovered that I could place slightly bigger holiday canvas  frames over the top of pictures I already had up. As I remembered this, I got super excited and started hanging up my Christmas pictures left and right. It was so simple and so easy.

When have you discovered a simple tip that has made decorating for the holidays easier for you?

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.*

Daylight Saving Time

First thing when I woke up, in my mind I thought through everything I was hoping to do during the day, which included attending a call-in meeting, and I was feeling overwhelmed with the limited hours and a shortage of time to do it all.

At the designated time, I phoned in to the meeting and couldn’t understand why I was not getting in on the call. As I was anticipating the meeting to begin at any moment, I was hearing a recorded message, “the meeting has not yet started”. I continued to wait and wait and wait until a quarter past the hour. It didn’t make sense to me why it was not starting at the scheduled time. A few hours earlier I’d received an email that the meeting would be held at the time I called. Uncertain as to what was going on, I replied back to find out if the meeting would still be taking place.

And then it dawned on me—Daylight Saving Time (DST). It had snuck up on me the day prior and I had completely forgotten. I hadn’t turned any of our clocks back and I didn’t pay attention to the time on my phone that reset automatically.

I had, after all, not missed the meeting. In fact, I was on it an hour early. I laughed and was extremely grateful for this realization.

It was a tender mercy that the remembrance of Daylight Saving Time came before I missed the call all together and when I wanted time to stretch a little further, it just so happened that I had one more hour to accomplish my tasks. I felt relief and relaxed. That was all the time that I needed. That extra hour made all the difference.

When have you been concerned and felt overwhelmed with a lack of adequate time in the day to do all you hoped to do and you realized you actually had more time on the day of or the day after “fall back” Daylight Saving Time?

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.*