Where's The White?

I stare at the mountain tops.
Covered in snow.
Look out to the lawn below
And see Green.
It's not yet Winter.

There's a chill in the air.
Foggy windows.
Christmas lights.
Yet no snow.

Caroling both outside and on the radio.
Christmas trees.
Wrapping presents.

Yet Where is that Christmas feeling?
That the winter white wonderland brings.

Please come snow.
Please come soon.
You are more anticipated this time of year.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

October 2002 General Conference Priesthood Session

Boyd K. Packer -The Stake Patriarch

• Patriarchs do not advertise for blessings. Members should seek blessings as they feel inspired to do so. There is no fixed age at which one may receive a patriarchal blessing.
• Except for members of the immediate family, we should not permit others to read our blessing nor should we ask others to interpret it.
• "Because a man has filled with credit a presiding office and has attained a good age is no reason why he should or should not make a good patriarch; ... [He should be one who has] developed within [him] the spirit of the patriarchs; in fact, this should be [his] leading characteristic, ... [a man] of wisdom, possessed of the gift and spirit of blessing as well."
• Stake presidents must provide very careful, special watch care over the patriarch. You should have him sit on the stand and be recognized.
• It has been said that a patriarchal blessing is a "'[paragraph] from the book of your possibilities.' If we read our patriarchal blessings, we will see what the spirit of prophecy has held up to us as to what each of us can become."
• Since there are many bloodlines running in each of us, two members of one family might be declared as being of different tribes in Israel.
• Things of an eternal nature have no boundaries.
• Do not let the office of stake patriarch be neglected or ignored. It is essential to the spiritual power of a stake.
• "Face toward the sunlight of truth so that the shadow of error, disbelief, doubt and discouragement shall be cast behind you.

M. Russell Ballard -The Greatest Generation of Missionaries

• "They were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all--they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.
• We don't need spiritual weak and semicommitted young men. We don't need you to just fill a position; we need your whole heart and soul. We need vibrant, thinking, passionate missionaries who know how to listen to and respond to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. this isn't a time for spiritual weaklings. We cannot send you on a mission to be reactivated, reformed, or to receive a testimony. We just don't have time for that. We need you to be filled with "faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God."
• We expect you to be missionaries to match our glorious message.
• The day of the "repent and go" missionary is over.
• Some young men have the mistaken idea that they can be involved in sinful behavior and then repent when they're 18 1/2 so they can go on their mission at 19. While it is true that you can repent of your sins, you may or you may not qualify to serve. It is far better to keep yourselves clean and pure and valiant.
• Consequently, if we are "raising the bar" for your sons to serve as missionaries, that means we are also "raising the bar" for you. If we expect more of them, that means we expect more of you and your wife as well.
• Some fathers don't think they have the right to ask worthiness questions of their children. They think that is the purview of the bishop alone. Fathers, not only do you have the right to know the worthiness of your children, you have the responsibility. It is your duty to know how your children are doing with regards to their spiritual well-being and progression. You need to monitor carefully the issues and concerns they share with you. Ask specific questions of your children regarding their worthiness, and refuse to settle for anything less than specific answers.
• Parents should be so intimately aware of what is going on in their children's lives that they know about the problems before the bishop does.
• To those of you who have already served, please remember that you were released from your missions but not from the Church. You spent two years as a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. We expect you to always look and act like one of His disciples. Look the part. Act the part. Don't follow worldly trends and fashions. you are better than that.

James E. Faust -I Believe I Can, I Knew I Could

• At times all of us are called upon to stretch ourselves and do more than we think we can.
• "I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man." We develop our talents first by thinking we can.
• Some of us are too content with what we may already be doing. We stand back in the "eat, drink, and be merry" mode when opportunities for growth and development abound. We miss opportunities to build up the kingdom of God because we have the passive notion that someone else will take care of it. The Lord tells us that He will give more to those who are willing. They will be magnified in their efforts, like the little blue engine as it pulled the train up the mountain. But to those who say, "We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have."
• While we are not all equal in experience, aptitude, and strength, we have different opportunities to employ these spiritual gifts, and we will all be accountable for the use of the gifts and opportunities given to us.
• Each of us must climb mountains that we have never climbed before.

Thomas S. Monson -Peace, Be Still

• A list of destructive demons is length; and each man, young or old, knows the ones with which he must contend. I'll name but a few: The Demon of Greed; the Demon of Dishonesty; the Demon of Debt; The Demon of Doubt; The Demon of Drugs; and the twin Demons of Immodesty and Immorality. Each of these demons can wreak havoc with our lives. A combination of them can spell utter destruction.
• Concerning greed, the council from Ecclesiastes speaks caution: "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase."
• We must learn to separate need from greed.
• We must not allow our yearnings to exceed our earnings.
• "There hath no temptation take you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
• For each of us it is infinitely better to hear and heed the call of conscience, for conscience always warns us as a friend before punishing us as a judge.
• "If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those you might have saved, had you done your duty."
• In the performance of our responsibilities, I have learned that when we heed a silent prompting and act upon it without delay, our Heavenly Father will guide our footsteps and bless our lives and the lives of others. I know of no experience more sweet or feeling more precious than tot heed a prompting only to discover that the Lord has answered another person's prayer through you.

Gordon B. Hinckley -To Men of the Priesthood

• We must raise the bar on the worthiness and qualifications of those who go into the world as ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• There is nothing more important that your families.
• Save a little money regularly, and you will be surprised how it accumulates.
• Get out of debt and rid yourself of the terrible bondage that debt brings.
• Discipline yourselves in matters of spending, in matters of borrowing, in practices that lead to bankruptcy and the agony that comes therewith.

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Christmas Programs

Christmas Programs.
They happen this time of year.
In many ways, I miss the ones in my home ward.
Back when my Primary class had like a hundred kids in it so we could vary everything a little bit, give lots of spoken parts, sing lots of songs.
(alright so it was like 30, but we filled up the whole 'choir' section of that pulpit. :) ) Which was awesome! Getting to sit up on the big comfy chairs. (Unless you were unlucky and had to sit in a hard chair brought in to fit us all.)

It's hard to say any special memory with those Christmas Programs.
They merge in with Easter, and Mothers Day, and Father's Day programs.

I just remember we had one liners to recite.
Songs to sing.
And the enjoyment of being up on the stand looking to see all the friends and family who came to listen to me and my fellow Primarymates. :)

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

Lex Luther -claiming to be a reformed man, had come to me, trying to convince me to join up with him so I could learn how to control my powers, but I had trouble trusting him, as every time I gave him a little, he seemed to turn it against me, only to make it appear to be for my good, yet I didn't feel that it was.....

-S.N.D

(post written 12/15/14 as I got caught up in the ongoing Sydney Siege Situation. I hope they all make it out safely. :( )

Signing Cards

A woman came into our store today,
Looking for Christmas Cards.
Which, in reality, we should carry in our store.
As we have cards for other reasons. Birthdays, Get Well, etc.
Yet, as much as I looked....we had none.
Which, isn't too surprising either, as we aren't a card store, but a Pet store.

In any case.
I was reminded of back when my siblings and I would all be home during Christmas time.

-Because this lady was like "I need a pack of twenty-four." for her cards (which we don't carry that many of the same thing anyway.

And we would spend around half an hourish, sitting in a circle, signing Christmas cards to send to our extended family.
It seemed like we would have a mountain of cards to sign, because we have sooo many family members.
But that's not quite the case at all.

Still, it was a moment of bonding.
 
;) And being jealous of my sister's fancy signature while mine appeared to be just a scrawl across the page. lol

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Singing In A Mall

I wandered into the mall today, to grab a couple more gifts for friends and family.
And as I walked in, I heard singing.

There was a group of young children right in front of me, with a crowd gathered around them, singing Christmas songs.

And it brought back the memory.
Of the one time I sang in a mall for class.
I was older, jr. high age, from what I remember, in a choir class.

And we went down to a mall -I don't know if it's open anymore, I remember it was near where my mom worked.
Because she was able to come and listen to us sing for her lunch break.

I don't remember much beyond that.
That we were by fountains, on a stage,
that I didn't think we were easy to hear because of the water.

But, that I was singing for my mom was a thrill to me.
It was even better because I got to spend some time with her afterwards.
I don't remember going back to school, so it was either a thing after school, or close enough to the end of school that I didn't return to class.
But Mom and I had lunch, and I was able to hang out with her while she finished up her work day, we may have even visited a book store.

Good times. ^^
I'm glad that I was able to hear those children sing in the mall. It brought a bit of peace and joy into my life. :)

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Becoming Saints

It is sometimes amazing to see the difference this peace can have in the lives of those who accept it.
While I was presiding over the Canada Toronto Mission many years ago, our missionaries began teaching a family that was in spiritual darkness.
They were poor, uneducated, and their personal appearance reflected a lack of appreciation or concern for normal hygiene and grooming.
But they were good, honorable people--among the honest in heart that we always pray for our missionaries to find--and they responded spiritually as they felt for the first time in their lives the peace the gospel offers.

When we learned that they were going to be baptized, Sister Ballard and I attended the baptismal service.
I happened to be standing next to the bishop of the ward when the family arrived.
In all honesty, I must tell you that they were quite a sight.
They looked unkempt, unclean, and somewhat scruffy.
Because he had been out of town for a period of time, the bishop had not yet met the newest members of his ward; so this first impression was, to say the least, unimpressive.
As they walked away, I thought I could feel his knees begin to buckle.

I put my arm around this good bishop to give him my support--physically as well as spiritually.
I felt prompted to say to him: "Bishop, isn't this wonderful?
We will make good Latter-day Saints out of them!"

He looked at me, and smiled.
I just couldn't tell if he was smiling because he agreed with me, or if he thought that I might be just another overenthusiastic missionary.

The baptismal service proceeded, and the family was baptized.
The next day, we decided to attend that ward to make sure the family was well received when they came to their meetings as new members of the Church.

As the family came into the chapel for sacrament meeting, I was sitting on the stand next to the bishop.
The father was wearing a clean white shirt.
It was not large enough for him to fasten the top button at the neck, and he was wearing a tie that I could remember seeing on one of my elders.
But his face radiated with happiness and peace.
The mother and daughters looked like they had been transformed from the previous day.
Their dresses were not fancy, but they were clean and lovely.
They, too, had that special gospel glow.
The little boys wore white shirts that were several sizes too large for them, even with the sleeves rolled up.
And they were wearing ties that almost extended down to their knees.
It was obvious that the missionaries had put their own white shirts and ties on these little boys so they could come to sacrament meeting appropriately dressed.

They sat with their missionaries, and the light of the gospel literally shone from them.
Alma describes this as "[receiving God's] image in your countenances."
I leaned over to the bishop again and said: "See, Bishop?
We will make Saints out of them!"

Of course, that overnight physical transformation was merely superficial when compared to the overwhelming more significant spiritual transformation that took place in that family as the gospel entered their hearts and lives.
Through the instruction of the missionaries and the subsequent fellowshipping of their good bishop and the ward members, this entire family emerged from spiritual darkness into gospel light and truth.
In that light the family was warmed, refreshed, and revitalized by the peace that comes from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ lives.
The light of the gospel truths restored to earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith began to show this family the way to the temple, where one year later they received their eternal blessings.

-M. Russell Ballard -The Peaceable Things of the Kingdom -April 2002 General Conference

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Faces in the Dream

So while scrolling through my new favorite browsing site, UltraFacts, I came across this new interesting tidbit of information.
In which it states that:

"In our Dreams we only see faces that we already know. Our mind is not inventing faces, in our dreams we see real faces of real people that we have seen during our life but may not know or remember. We have all seen hundreds of thousands of faces throughout our lives, so we have an endless supply of characters for our brain to utilize during our dreams."

I found this so intriguing.
Every person I see in my dreams....is a person I've seen before.
So a couple of nights when I dreamt about a creepy guy with a balding head and long reddish fringed hair down to his shoulders....I've seen him somewhere before.
The woman Lydia, I've also seen somewhere.

It's crazy to think really.
I mean, there are some people that just look...odd, in my dreams.
I'm not sure if this fact applies to bodies, or just to faces, but....
There are some strange looking people I've seen if it's true.

lol, but you know my first thought after reading this?
I was like "Then my Prince Charming exists!! I need to go track him down!"

lol.
I mean, I've had those dreams where I'm in a relationship with a handsome guy, or am married to someone amazing.

Perhaps when that sort of dream comes up, it's because I've seen someone recently that subconscious me thinks would be a good match.

Could our dreams be playing matchmaker with us?
Could our dreams be showing us the disasters of potential matches?
Could we have met our best friends, yet only in our dreams realize it?

It's so crazy to think about!

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

I was at work, trying to close, I think, when I came across some kids doing a cookie test. Where they were asked, if they could only eat cookies for every meal what 3 would they pick?
The answers had typical "chocolate chip cookie" answers, but then there was one kid that said he wanted to eat 'gold' while miming eating something like a hamburger.
And another, also miming stuffing his face full and licking his fingers said "Peeeaaaaannnuutts."

Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D