Prayer; It's the Real Thing

There was a movie in the 1970's called "Oh, God!" starring George Burns as God. He appeared to a mortal (John Denver) and wanted him to tell the world that he, God, was alive and well.
One of the questions he was asked was, "Do you listen to everyone's prayers?"
His answer was something like, "Oh, no, just the ones that mean it."

There is a difference between saying a prayer and praying.
I thought it made sense that God heard only the ones we really mean, the ones prayed "with all energy of heart."

I was surprised when a teacher once asked, "When you pray, do you expect an answer?" At the time, my honest answer was, No, I don't think I do.

Fast forward a few years to a quote I found:
"There is not a single prayer offered by young or by old, offered in times past or in the present, or ever will be offered by any of Heavenly Father's children, that will not be heard and answered in the due time of the Lord." (Author Unknown)


I don't pretend to know how prayer works, but it has ceased to be a stumbling block to me. I'm glad that I've lived long enough to learn that prayers are heard, and answered, --even mine, and that at any given moment we have a Father in heaven anxious to hear from us.

I love what Julie Wang, a convert from Taiwan said.
She said, "I pray like this. I say, 'Hello, God, this is Julie Wang.'
Then I wait, and He says, 'Hello, Julie.'"


It's nice to know there's Someone on the other end of the line.




No time for God?
What fools we are,
To clutter up our lives with common things,
And leave without the Lord of Life.

Take time for God,
Or a poor misshapen thing you'll be
To step into Eternity and say,
'I had no time for Thee.'"
Anonymous

Tagged

When I realized the list was six things, not four, I about gave up.
I don't think I could do a "100 Things about Me" list!

Without a lot of thought, here goes:

Six Weird Things about Me:

1. I eat rice cakes in bed at night, and if I still can't sleep I have hot apple cider and buttered graham crackers.
2. I don't like to be called "Mrs. Sauter" because I feel like I'm not old enough.
3. I prefer to wash my hair in the sink, not the shower or bathtub.
4. I feel like I'm in the same mood almost all the time.
5. I always wait until the last minute to buy a birthday present.
6. I love mellowcreme pumpkins and think chocolate ruins everything.

(Does admitting I can't ever remember how to spell "weird" count?
Also, I like peanut butter toast with Miracle Whip.)


Six Things that Make Me Happy (right now):

1. Brownies
2. Going places I've never been.
3. Falling asleep on the couch after work.
4. Seeing my grown children be friends.
5. The last 50 pages of a good book.
6. Studying up on a topic.

And, of course, blogging--when I'm in the mood.

I did it!

Don't make me deaf with your thunderous applause, please.

The Grass IS Greener

Thoughts on my return home:

Florida is skinny.
It takes 2 hours to cross the state; it takes 2 days to cross Texas.

Florida is green.
Texas is brown.

Florida is flat.
Texas is too, but Florida is lush and beautiful.

Florida has lots of water -- seas, gulfs, lakes, bays, inlets, waterways, rivers, everglades, etc.
Texas has a few ugly man-made lakes.

Texas is bordered on one side by the Gulf of Mexico.
Florida is too, but surrounded by the beautiful Atlantic Ocean on the other.

I think there might be more yachts in Florida than there are longhorns in Texas.

My skin loves Florida, but my hair hates it.


I was happy when I lived in Las Vegas, until I drove out of the city. When I realized I was living in a desolate desert, I’d ask myself, Why am I living here?
I’m happy enough living in Texas, but when I saw Florida, I asked myself again, Why am I living here?
Sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side.


In Florida we experienced the four theme parks, resorts and Downtown of Walt Disney World, saw Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, rode airboats through the Everglades and water taxis through city canals, drove the amazing Florida Keys, 25 degrees from the equator, ate alligator and papaya, saw beach after beach, water park after amusement park, and fun thing after fun thing to see and do.
There’s very little to do in Texas.

If we had kids traveling with us, they would have been endlessly entertained just in the car by counting the number of toll booths on the turnpikes, of license plates from all different states, of foreign languages heard and people met from Canada, alligators and egrets, and even by playing the alphabet game since Florida seems adept at getting those hard letters on their license plates.



Alas, I am home again in Texas.
The grass isn’t green, but it’s home.
And I got to cross a few things off my list of Things I Want to See or Do Before I Die.


Maybe you are green with envy.
Maybe someday you will get to go to Florida, where the grass is green.

I certainly hope so. It's a beautiful and fun place to go--that is, when there's not a hurricane.

TTFN

The Travel Bug has bitten and I'm off again. This time for Florida for two weeks and for my very first time. We will do Disney World, visit my long-lost brother-in-law, and drive through the Everglades to Key West. I'm stoked.

Whenever my sister-in-law would leave on one of her many trips, she would leave a note on her fridge telling her children that if anything happened to her, to be sure they got married in the temple. Well, her children, and mine who are married, are all married in the temple. I wonder what she says to them now.

Whether we travel across the country or across town, something could happen to any one of us at any time. What message would we like to leave our loved ones?

I would want to leave a note so my children would know that the Gospel is the most important thing in life, and it is worth every sacrifice in giving it your all.

I do have a sign on my fridge. It says, "You can't fire the cook; slaves must be sold."

No, not that one. It says "Let there be No Empty Chairs in our Heavenly Home."

It would be my hope that my children would be clean and dressed, spotless and in white, and present to share in that heavenly feast.


So, TTFN (ta ta for now), and I hope to see you soon.

If not, then I'll be holding your seat at the table!