The Cup-Of-Flour Game!

It is just plain fun to be at the Toolsons' home. My girls came home from a joint birthday party that they had hosted for my daughter and Trey and they were excited about a game that Stacy says she has been playing since she was a little girl. You pack a cup with flour, invert it on a plate, put a dime on top, and take turns carefully slicing flour away, and the person who loses is the one who makes the dime fall...   ...and that person has to pick up the dime with their teeth.

Fill Yourself with Knowledge and the Spirit Will Bring it Back to You When You Need It

The Institute teachers today were commenting on how they read so much to prepare for these classes but as they get older are having a harder time remembering what they've read. But they promised that the Spirit will bring things back to our remembrance when we need them.   I made a similar comment to Stacy on the car ride home, having already forgotten this remark of the teachers :) , that I remember the RS lesson was really great yesterday but couldn't remember the specifics. Stacy reminded me of this point, that you fill yourself with knowledge and the Spirit will bring it back to you when you need it.   "Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man." Doctrine & Covenants 84:85

Bathing in the Spirit

Stacy, let me know if this is too personal for the blog and I will remove it. :)   I learned something very interesting from Stacy on the car ride related to the Spirit and how Lyme Disease has affected her body. She used to feel the Spirit through tingling in her body but because of the disease, she feels tingling all the time. So she has had to work to develop ways to feel the Spirit through other senses. That is one reason she bathes in spiritual messages all week, from scriptures to BYU talks to institute classes. An obvious by-product of this, to anyone who knows her, is that Stacy is an absolute master in knowledge of the gospel and the scriptures.   It never occurred to me that a disease could interfere with your sensitivity to the Holy Ghost, and I'm so grateful that Stacy shared this insight with me and for her courage to make that a top priority in her life.   -Mindy

Avocado Chicken

This is another one of Tucker's favorites. I'm waiting for the recipe.

Chicken Divan

This is one of Tucker's favorites. I'm waiting for the recipe.

Why The Roosters?

After our institute class, we went in the house and Stacy's son, Tucker, was home for lunch so I pumped him for information for this blog. He was very willing to comply and I look forward to gleaning more juicy tidbits from him, heh, heh, heh.... The first thing he said, was,   "Cock-A-Doodle Doo! The Gospel is True!"   I had noticed that Stacy has a lot of roosters in her kitchen decor but had thought they were simply a decorating choice. No, as with everything I'm learning about Stacy, they have Gospel symbolism. The rooster crowing at the sunrise symbolizes proclaiming that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true! And of course, the Sun symbolizes the love of our Savior, the Son.   As I looked around Stacy's kitchen I noticed more roosters than I had before--not just ceramic roosters but roosters in the wrought iron light fixture and in the print of her curtains.   I love the joy and symbolism, Stacy! I will never look at a rooster the same way again.   -Mindy

Stasadillas

I was at Stacy's this morning picking her up for Institute class and noticed a fun-looking bright red hinged kitchen appliance on her counter. I love kitchen appliances, especially red ones. I asked her what it was and she said it was a quesadilla maker.   "But my kids call them Stasadillas," she remarked.   She puts scrambled eggs, cheese, leftover taco/burrito meat, etc. and makes breakfast quesadillas. YUM!   I don't think the one I've pictured is the one she has but I just ordered this one for myself from Amazon! And from now on, we will call them Stasadillas, too!!   -Mindy

"We Volunteered For This"

In institute class yesterday, one of the teachers said that she volunteers for everything, even things she doesn't know how to do, and she testified that the Lord helps her as she goes along. President Monson has said, "Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies." This reminded me of something I read recently--in her book, Light in the Wilderness, M. Catherine Thomas wrote about an important lesson she learned when her husband was called to be a mission president and she was completely overwhelmed:

 

"It was there that I learned that in challenging circumstances which the Lord requires you to confront, the secret is just to show up. Just show up to do the thing that needs to be done, and the Lord meets you there to expand what little you have to give."

 

This statement was profoundly moving to me as I've been called to raise a severely disabled child and I just don't know how to do it, and it's getting really, really hard as he gets heavier and stronger. Sister Thomas' observation was very comforting--I did show up, I did take this on, and the Lord will assist me.

 

But the institute teacher's comment that she volunteers for hard things kind of irritated me. There I was, thinking about my own challenges and sitting next to Stacy whose challenges far exceed mine. If there had been time, I would have said, "Some of us have hard things thrust upon us that we didn't volunteer for."

 

I shared this with Stacy in the car on the way home, and she replied, "But you and I DID volunteer for this. We volunteered for it a long time ago. We are more blessed than people who have to choose now between relaxing or volunteering for hard things."

 

Stacy turned our "burdens" into such a positive thing. The Spirit testified to me that what she was saying was true. She reminded me that we chose to come here and work through these problems because we knew it would help us to grow and return to our Heavenly Father. She made me appreciate the concept that because we volunteered for our challenges before we were born, we are spared the burden of having to volunteer for them now. And this perspective made me admire the institute teacher even more.

 

"Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born." Abraham 3:22-23

 

--Mindy

 

 

Stacy's Orange Rolls

Stacy makes fabulous orange rolls. I make them, too, but my kids stay Stacy's are MUCH better.... (And don't even get me started about her CARAMEL PRETZELS--I can't even come close.) Anyway, she did the sweetest thing with my girls when their family came over for dinner a couple of years ago. Instead of bringing her assignment (orange rolls) already baked, she taught my girls how to make them. And she had them repeat back the amounts so they would remember. Stacy is a born teacher!

1 cube of real butter
1/2 - 3/4 cup of white sugar ("depending on how sweet you're feeling")
rind of 1 orange (just the skin, not the white part)
2 cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough (regular, not "Grands")

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a bundt or ring cake pan with cooking spray. Lay biscuits one at a time in a ring, overlapping each other, to fill the pan. Simmer butter, sugar, and orange rind on the stove until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Pour over biscuits. Bake about 10 minutes or until golden brown. YUM!

--Mindy

Stacy's RS Lesson, January 5, 2010, "Our Father in Heaven"

Stacy gave a fabulous lesson on Sunday, January 5 on "Our Father in Heaven" from the brand new manual. This manual is a bit scary to use because the lessons are short and leave a lot up to following the Spirit and class discussion. At the beginning, Stacy explained the challenge with the new curriculum, saying that she didn't know exactly where this lesson would go, and started a discussion, writing things on the board as they came up. One woman posed a question and Stacy said, "That's it! That's the area of this topic that we need to focus on today!" And she proceeded to lead and teach the most interactive and Spirit-filled RS lesson I can remember. It was remarkable to watch her follow the Spirit, on the fly, in action. Her years of intense religious study combined with her teaching skill allowed her to leave us really feeling "fed."

 

Several women asked for the name of the Neal A. Maxwell book she quoted, which was All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, published in 1979. Here are excerpts from Neal A. Maxwell's commentary, provided by Stacy:
 
"God who knows the end from the beginning, knows, therefore, all that is in between. He could not safely see us through our individual allotments of  'all these things' that shall give us experience if He did not first know all 'all things'.
 
"There are no qualifiers, only flat and absolute assertions of the omniscience of God!"
 
"Therefore, God's omniscience is not solely a function of prolonged and discerning familiarity with us--but of the stunning reality that the past and present and future are part of an 'eternal now' with God!"
 
"Rather than questioning God's foreseeing of 'all these things' in each of our lives, this perfected quality in God should fill us with such wonderment and send us to our knees. Worshipful acknowledgement of an omniscient God will cause us to cooperate in the stretching of our souls."
 
"Fortunately for us...His plan of salvation is constantly underway and not constantly under revision."
 
"Ever to be emphasized is the reality that God's 'seeing' is not the same thing as His 'causing' something to happen."
 
"Even though it is true that there must be an 'opposition in all things' none of us has the personal obligation to provide the opposition."
 
"No wonder the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that if men do not comprehend the character of God they do not comprehend themselves."
 
"God's ultimate power is safe, precisely because He possesses ultimate love, justice, mercy,and knowledge. We cannot share in His power without sharing in His attributes."
 
"God's martyrs are not permitted great concern over public relations, for truth is a relentless taskmaster."
 
"In order for us to develop a trust in God to see us through all these things, we must have a measure of understanding about His nature, including His omniscience. The prophet Joseph Smith said it was the first principle of real religion to know the true nature of God"
 
"In order for 'all these things' to make sense, we must come to understand that God has 'all sense'. Only then can we repose with confidence in His perfect love!"
 
"When we are unduly impatient with circumstances, we may be suggesting that we know what is best--better than God. Or at least we are asserting that out timetable is better than His. Either way, we are questioning the reality of God's omniscience as if, as some seem to believe, God were in some sort of postdoctoral fellowship, trying to complete His understanding and therefore, needing to use us as consultants."  Notwithstanding my Weakness  SLC Deseret Book 1981

 

--Mindy

Institute Reminders

Our next class will be on Feb. 22 and we will be studying Lecture #2 of the Lectures on Faith. Our homework is to attend at least one but preferably several temple endowment sessions before the next class.   The textbook for the class is The Great Plan of Happiness: Insights from the Lectures on Faith by Jerry A. Wilson.   A book that the teachers heavily quote from is Light in the Wilderness by M. Catherine Thomas.

Colorful Closet

Stacy's dear friend Kelly told me that Stacy's closet is color-coordinated and just to bug her, when Stacy's not looking, Kelly will put an orange shirt in the blue section....

A few weeks ago Stacy had me over and gave me a bazillion gorgeous hand-me-downs from her mother, Beth Adell Strong, who passed away last summer. She told me how to wear them, told me I looked gorgeous, and made me feel like a princess!

Yesterday Kelly and I were admiring each other's stylish and colorful outfits and we were both wearing skirts Stacy had given us!

We love you, Stacy!

--Mindy

Sing a Song of Christ

This is Stacy's friend Mindy, writing. Stacy isn't ready to start blogging yet but since I have the password (LOL) I'm going to turn this into a fan site ABOUT Stacy. I am collecting her words of wisdom and saving them here so I can find them later. :)

I had the privilege of spending the morning with Stacy driving to and from an AMAZING LDS institute class that she invited me to. It was a fabulously uplifting and mind-expanding class (and car ride!) and I can't wait til next time. I told her that five minutes with her is like a whole sermon--She is such a fountain of wisdom and knowledge.

I was talking to her about how I had noticed that singing to my autistic and multiple-disabled son calmed him. She told me that in college as part of her broadcasting major she worked with disabled kids, and was taught that singing songs of Christ calmed them. She says that when she is having a seizure, singing (or having someone sing) a song of Christ calms her more quickly than anything else, because it addresses all seven parts of the brain.

Music touches us more quickly than anything, and what better way to deliver the healing spirit of Christ than through music. I can't wait to try this with my son!