Slow and Steady

Today I have been thinking about the race between the tortise and the hare and how the tortise won because he was steady despite the slowness of his pace. He kept at it. It is true with us and especially in our service to the Lord. It does not matter what our disabilities are or how much brain matter we have lost, if we truly want to serve Him, He will help us overcome the obstacles and He will help us to win our personal race for eternal life.


The Race

Who is it that will win the race?
The one who is very swift
Or one with a steady pace
Who humbly prays for a gift?

Is the race won by the strongest
Or the weak things of the earth?
Is it won by the brightest
Or the meek of great worth?

It is not how fast we are
Or how high our I Q.
What matters by far
Is the good we do.

God blesses the humble
Who move slow but steady,
Who do not mumble,
Those who are ever ready.

30 Jan 2009 Suzanne Halliday

Ecclesiastes 9:11, "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong..."
Doctrine and Covenants 64:33, "Wherefore, be not weary in well doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."

Everyday Miracles

Everyday

There is a miracle everyday
In some big or little way.
Every day full of sun or rain,
Full of health or pain,
And things that might annoy
God is there to show you joy.

No matter all the thunder
There is always God's wonder.
We have to look around us
To see through all the fuss,
And find the miracle of the day,
The glory of God's way.

It takes a good eye to see
The miracle of you and me,
The true treasure we are,
Each one a beautiful star.
There is a miracle everyday
In some big or little way.

24 Jan 2009 Suzanne Halliday

The Lost is Found

Some time last year I went looking for our safety deposit box keys. I could not find the little green file box that they were in. The file box itself has some 3 X 5 cards that are important to me but the main thing was the keys. The box was not where I had last seen, on the back of the headboard in our room and Gene had no idea what box I was talking about. He looked for me but did not find it. I prayed eanestly over this because I did not want to pay for having the box rekeyed.

Today my prayers were answered. Gene found the box when he was looking for a spot to put a small air filter. I am so thankful.

The Lost Is Found

For a key we searched everywhere,
And I offered a humble prayer.
But that we find the key
Was not then meant to be.

I kept a prayer in my heart
And never let hope depart
That the lost would be found
And my joy would abound.

Time continued to flee
And still there was no key.
But one day we were given grace
To find the key's hiding place.

The lost is now found
And my joy doth abound.

22 Jan 2009 Suzanne Halliday

On Growing Old

On Growing Old

I am too old to climb a tree;
For I might fall you see.
But God loves me so much,
He sends angels to keep in touch.

It matters not that I fall down
And look like a clown.
To Jesus I am not wild;
I am His precious child.

Sometimes I forget a name
And maybe even tomorrow's aim,
But He always remembers me,
And from fear sets me free.

When I cannot tie my shoe,
He is there to see me through.
When I lose my way,
He reminds me to stop and pray.

20 Jan 2008 Suzanne Halliday

One Message At A Time

I have been studying Jan VT message, page 61 of Jan ENSIGN. The very last paragraph by Elder Richard G Scott gives the very reason that my inspiration and power have grown so. He said, "You cannot today remotely imagine what that decision to be unwaveringly obedient to the Lord will allow you to accomplish in life. Your quiet, uncompromising determination to live a righteous life will couple you to inspiration and power beyond your capacity now to understand."

I can look back and see this with clarity:

1. Two weeks after I joined the church (1961) I felt a need to promise faithfully that I would never turn down any speaking assignment of anykind in this church because of my speech impediment. As a result my speech today is almost fluent. 99%

2. When Princess Anne was being married years ago, a friend of mine lost a poem God gave her for Princess Anne because she was tired and neglected to write it down. I felt the prompting to promise that I would never neglect my gift, that I would write whatever God saw fit to send me. I have always kept that promise and as a result I have books and books of poems and many lives have been blessed.

3. Some years ago I was prompted to make a commitment to always make the Visiting Teaching Message personal by writing a poem around the message. I made a commitment to always internalize that message and any other message I was to teach before I taught it. As a result my life has grown one message at a time.

Feeling alone

Yesterday afternoon we went to see what to me was a rather depressing movie and then I read a kid's book: "Griffin's Castle" by Jenny Nimo. The book is about an 11 year old girl who had a lot of pain in her young life. I am not sure exactly why but I began to feel alone. I could not feel the usual closeness I feel to my Heavenly Father. The constant prayer in my heart was not working so I got down on my knees and gave a heart felt prayer. Not too long afterwards I felt a "finger" touch my heart and I knew it was my Lord and Master. It was as if he literally reached in and put his finger on my heart and left his imprint there.

This morning I felt that I could not do anything until I wrote a poem describing what I felt the best that I could.


A Spark of Love

I could not feel the Lord near,
And heaven seemed far away.
But one thing was very clear:
I needed to kneel and pray.

As I lifted my heart in prayer,
The door opened wide,
And suddenly He was there
Walking close by my side.

He touched the lonely place
Deep within my soul
Filling the hole with grace
And making me whole.

His touch left a mark
That only love can do.
It created a spark
That I can share with you.

15 Jan 2009 Suzanne Halliday


James 4:8, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you..."

My Motto: By small and simple things I do great things can come to pass.

Alma 37:6 has become my motto. "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."

Friday night I was reduced to tears by a new job I have of training two new Family History Support missionaries. After much prayer about what to do, a goal, a plan and this motto came to mind. This morning I wrote a new poem: "By Small Things". I chose a plain background but on the side I put a fir tree. It was small but I made it grow until the column went off the paper.

BY SMALL THINGS

Small things grow bigger everyday.
Our small efforts pave the way
For greater things than we can see.
It is small things that set us free.

A fir tree begins as a small seed
And begins growing with little speed.
But given water, and sunlight
It grows to such a great height.

As a ship is guided by a small helm
So from small means grows a realm.
Be not weary in small things you do
For God is there to see you through.

Set a goal and see it in your mind.
Set a small plan so wisdom you can find;
Then lean on God with all your soul
And He will help you reach your goal.

11 Jan 2009 Suzanne Halliday

The writing of the Poem: The Book of First Nephi

Last night when no sleep would come, I began to think about the Book of First Nephi. The stories of Lehi and Nephi came alive in my mind and I saw them as clear as a motion picture. I began to realize that God has given me a gift of turning what I read into my own movie. As I pondered all this words began to come. So here I was after midnight, writing a poem about First Nephi.

Watching an Amaryllis grow

My neighbor Evelyn Kabbage gave me an early Christmas present around the 8th of December. We planted it and right away it began to grow. It seemed slow at first but just today from 7:30 AM to 10 PM it has grown 3 1/2 centimeters or 1 1/4 inches. It is really fun to watch it grow. Its total height as of 10 PM is 25 1/2 centimeters or 10 1/4 inches. Evelyn said that it will bloom soon. She said if we had planted it on Thanksgiving it would have bloomed by Christmas. The flower will be bright red.

This afternoon I watched a movie on TBN called "Facing the Giants". It was about a football team whose coach worked to teach them that playing football was more than a game. It was about doing better than your best for God in whatever you did and win or loose you praise the Lord. He trained them hard until they gave him their very best. He drilled in into them and got them to loose their fear. He taught them to watch their defeatist thoughts and not think that they cannot do it but rather that with God everything is possible. The coach and his wife faced situations that made them ask "If God does not give you a _____, will you still love the Lord." Once they resolved that they would love the Lord no matter what, their lives changed for the better.

It is not that I have not come to face these same ideas before but the movie made me think about them again.

New Year

Changing years from 2008 to 2009 bothers me this year for some reason. I have hopes for this New Year but I am entering it hesitantly. My New Years resolution was to begin this year by starting a blog. I have always used microsoft word to create my journal and Printshop to write my poetrty and then printed the pages as I finished them. The idea was to put them into a notebook at the end of the year. I will probably continue to type my poems into Printshop and print them for my friends but I will post them here instead of printing a copy for myself.