AUTUMN BLESSINGS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

 

                2026

 Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. 

It is the year's last, loveliest smile. 

….ALBERT CAMUS      

THE POWER OF ONE

 

THE POWER OF ONE

Sometimes we underestimate just how much each of us can influence the world around us.  WE have the power of ONE to make a more peaceful place.  That can happen when we make even small efforts to ensure that outcome.  All of us are different.  So, open your circle to include everyone!

HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS.  Let them be a springboard for other ways you can bring peace to a world--here and everywhere--that is starving for civility and love for each other.

Don't take offence when none was intended.  

Think the best of others.  

Look for ways to ease someone else's burden.  

Focus less on what you want. 

Instead, focus on the abundance you have and be happy and grateful for it.   Gratitude is contagious!

PEACEMAKING IS NOT ONLY POSSIBLE. 

IT IS POWERFUL.

GARY E. STEVENSON

LABOR DAY

 

Today is Labor Day 2026... 

Sometimes I think the general public has no idea what this holiday is all about or why we celebrate it.  Sure, it's the last hurrah of summer--even for those who have already started a new school year.  But it's also more than just a Monday holiday businesses devote to the hopes of drawing consumers to the marketplace.

Perhaps I have already posted this little history which I used to share with my kids when they were growing up.  I wanted them to know that as the future "meat and potatoes" of our country, the "cog in the wheel" of industry in the United States, they were important to our country.  

I hope you realize that YOU are, too!

(Sorry, I don't remember where I originally copied this informative piece.)

Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

During the Nineteenth Century, the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. 

By 1894, 31 states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday.

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families.

The vital force of labor in the United States added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.                                         

ADVICE FROM THE NIGHT SKY

 

Advice from the Night Sky

See the big picture

Be a star  Keep looking up

Don’t be afraid of the dark

Stay full of wonder

Expand your horizons

Turn off the light!

Ilan Shamir

MORE WORDS OF WISDOM

 

              I WAS LOOKING THROUGH A VOLUME OF NEWSLETTERS (WHICH I WROTE FOR MY CHILDREN DURING A DECADE NOT LONG AFTER THE MILLENIUM YEAR) WHEN I SAW THIS LITTLE GEM I HAD PUT IN AS FILLER FOR ONE OF THE ISSUES. 

IT IS STILL GOOD ADVICE AND I OFFER IT HERE AS A REMINDER THAT ANYTHING OF VALUE IS WORTH THE EFFORT THAT HAS TO BE EXPENDED. 

                   

                                                                                                                                                

But the view from the top is BREATHTAKING!    

KEEP ON CLIMBING.....

BELIEVE IN MIRACLES

 

Every time you ask for a miracle, 

you get a prompting to do something for someone else. 

 It might look like one of the following:

 A thought to send a text to say, "Thinking of you!" 

Write a note of thanks 

Look someone in the eye and say, "Good morning. Have a great day!"  and really mean it 

Say a prayer for someone you know is struggling 

Bake a treat and surprise someone with homemade goodness

Give someone a spontaneous hug 

Play a game with someone who is lonely 

Clean some debris from a familiar path people take 

Plant a fairy plug in a cute container and gift it to a person who needs a lift 

Give your full attention when someone is talking to you 

Share a heartwarming anecdote 

 When you look back with gratitude for that resultant wonder you asked for, you will see the start of the miracle you wanted the minute you took that one small step which set things in motion. 

It will feel minute and unimpressive, 

BUT Heaven will move!

God puts His power in the simplest steps.  

Have the courage to take them!

SIMPLY TRY IT!

250 YEARS OF AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

             You may go to France, but you will never become a Frenchman.  You may go to Greece, but you will never become a Greek.  You may go to China, but you will never become a Chinese, to Japan and never become a Japanese.  But anyone can come to America and become an American.  That is the greatness of this country we call the United States of America!                                                                                              Angie Papadakis

  

“The United States of America is a great nation, founded on gospel-based principles and values.  I believe our leaders were guided by Deity during the very formation of our country to make it so.  In turn, we are promised by God we will always have His care and protection as long as we serve Him. 

In a 1775 letter when George Washington was the head of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, he wrote: “A kind of destiny ... has thrown me upon this service. I shall hope that my undertaking of it is designed to answer some good purpose.”

That “good purpose” was that the United States was where the Lord intended for liberty to take hold so that agency might thrive. Here the gospel would put down roots and then branch out with truths to bless millions.

Though we are aware that religious freedom is clearly under fire, teachings based on faith in God have always contributed to moral actions that benefit the entire nation.  Cultivating a sincere and abiding love for all others, by loving our country and its values, and most of all by demonstrating love for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will help us joyfully engage in the Lord’s great work to help us maintain freedom and liberty for all in our wonderful country—and around the world.  It is a work for everyone to preserve freedom and moral agency.” 

(The above is a summary of remarks given by Ronald A. Rasband, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He was the keynote speaker in the 2026 Patriotic Service of America’s Freedom Festival, Sunday, June 28, 2026)

 

I am grateful for this bold message with wise words which invite us to be more valiant during challenging times ahead when our country’s values and freedom may be contested even more. 

Let’s take an active part in preserving our God-given freedom and moral agency every day by extending a sincere love for all—here and around the world!  We are truly brothers and sisters in Christ’s family no matter where we live.

 

 John Adams gave the following suggestion at the time of the Declaration of Independence.  I hope you celebrated July 4, 2026, in the same true American style as it was celebrated that day 250 years ago on July 4, 1776, when we declared ourselves a nation!

“The 4^th of July,1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history of America. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward….”