"I will be loving you always"

D.& C. 25:5...Emma received revelation through her
husband, Joseph Smith, "And the office of thy calling shall be for a
comfort unto my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., thy husband, in his afflictions,
with consoling words, in the spirit of meekness." D.&C. 25:13 and 14:
"Wherefore, lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants
which thou has made. Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride.
Let thy soul delight in thy husband, and the glory which shall come upon
him."

Sixty five years ago, Grandpa and I were married and sealed
in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity. We were the best of friends,
very young and looked forward to a life together. As years passed we were
blessed with beautiful children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, all of
whom we are well pleased. The passing of time, of course, always offers many
experiences and emotions. This is all a part of our Father's plan to prepare us
for the eternal life we may enjoy if we stand up to the test in mortality. We,
as a couple and as a family, have experienced the utmost experiences to be had,
sorrow, happiness, tears, joy, devastation and peace.

At this time I wish to convey to my husband and family that
I truly have delighted in my husband and the life he has shared with me. He has
truly been an example of all the positive aspects of our lives, teaching one
and all that love endureth all. He has been my life preserver in the dark,
troubled waters of my life, and he has been the joy in knowing that I was loved
every day of my life. My gratitude to the Lord has no end that we have been
able to spend sixty five years together as man and wife. Of course I wrote him
a poem. I will not type it in poetry form because it will take too much space.

One day we said, "We will", and then we said,
"We do". We gave our love to each other, you to me and I to you. Love
has many meanings; it is a simple word to say, soothing a troubled heart, shown
in a quiet way. Love has no beginning, nor does it have an end, whether given
to a child or to a dear, dear friend. Love is an answer to all, coming from
Heaven above. Sorrow may be lifted with an act of love. Love is everlasting, it
may dim the signs of age. It gives us strength and courage when we turn another
page. Love is what I give to you upon this special. May our love go on forever;
for this I humbly pray.

I will be loving you always (our theme song), your devoted
wife, Shirley

Jail Birds

I have the opportunity to teach the Gospel Principles class in the jail to the sisters. It has been a very spiritual experience. We discussed the Holy Ghost last week. One of the 'sisters' discussed how far she had regressed from what she was brought up to be.
She started to pray and read her scriptures. Now she documents her readings and feelings in a journal. Her countenance has changed just in the time I have gotten to know her. She is vibrant, excited to help other sisters in jail, and wants to read all the time.
So why do we not spend just a few minutes doing the same thing. 'Try it, Sam I am. You will like it." I am going too.
Love you all. Even those who don't read our BLOG. 

Even a dew drop is important as it gives precious nutrients to a leaf.

Ponder Puddin' Post

I think some of us raised our eyebrows over the name of our
blog, ponderpuddin, but I have been thinking about it and I think it is
perfect. If we ponder over the important things in our lives we will create a
delicious puddin to share and to satisfy our spiritual appetites. In Moroni we
are told: "remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of
men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive
these things, and 'ponder' it in your hearts." In our busy lives our
hearts can be lifted by pondering over the 'little' things, such as little children
with their innocent faith, little time spent with loved ones, little moments
serving others, little blessings such as hearing the song of a bird, seeing a
beautiful sunset, awaking in the morning to the hope of a new day.

The dictionary describes the word, ponder in this way,
"to think about something quietly, soberly, and deeply". May we all
search, ponder, and pray for those things that perhaps are not tangible in a
mortal way but that offer hope at the dawning of a new day, strength to face
the challenges that come our way, and peace in the stillness of the night.

Our love to all, Grandma and Grandpa

Don't forget to pray.

Grandma Riley said she gets up every morning, swings her legs around, sits on the side of the bed, and says her morning prayer before ever touching the ground. Great way to start a new day, don't you think!

Karson's determination-or innocence

 Never give up. Stay focused. Remember-there is always someone there to catch you when you fall.
Families are the support we can trust and rely on if we do fall. May you each be blessed this new month of September. Have a wonderful Fall. No pun intended.