June 20, 2016 - Monday in Nauvoo

According to the calendar, today is the first day of summer, and the temperatures did not disappoint!  It hit 95 degrees today and that was with the cloud coverings and the very high humidity.  After our morning devotional and prayers, we took our P-day morning walk.  We left the house before 5:30am and it was already 75 degrees.  I was soaking wet when we returned to the house a little over an hour later!

Our Mondays have become a great day to attend the temple.  We opted for the 8:00am first session of the day and we were met with a full compliment of attendees.  It is great to see the sessions full as the summer season begins.  We enjoyed the time in the temple and made sure our families and friends were included on the prayer rolls.

We then went to Keokuk to do our weekly grocery shopping.  The drive over to Keokuk is a scenic and quiet ride for us.  And sometimes we get to call our precious children along the way!  I got some great morning pictures this morning on our walk;

Walking down Parley Street and the Trail of Hope

A feeling that Someone special is watching over us!

I loved this picture from Main Street

Then we can imagine who is watching over the temple!

Mom and I have been so richly blessed being parents to some of the best children ever!  We look at them and marvel at their goodness and their willingness to serve each other and magnify callings and responsibilities.  

The message President Monson recently shared on his Facebook page,  which comes from his 2008 talk "Finding Joy in the Journey," is an inspired one that we all need to hear often to help us bring perspective to life here and now.

"This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone.

"I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not.

"I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now."

Finding joy in the journey!  What a privilege it is to search for and discover the hidden joys in this challenging time on earth!  How many times do we need to hear the familiar quote; "I never said it would be easy, but I did say it would be worth it?"  Well, take it from a seasoned sojourner, it is definitely worth it!

Our closing activity was the Sunset Play.  The clouds threatened rain during our show tonight.  (And I am certain that this threat came because I washed the car today)!  But we only got a few sprinkles and the show was a lot of fun.  And the Sunset stage was a lot cooler!  We had the Texas group of youth that went on the Saturday trek in the audience.  It was a great show and we had over 400 in attendance.