August 2024 - Texas, Hail and the Great Flood, Family and Friends

 

JESUS BY Anthony Sweat

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."  Helaman 5:12

In August we studied this scripture in Church and at home and had no idea it would have so much impact on us and bring so much guidance and peace.  On August 4th we had a discussion based on the General Conference Talk, "Be Still, and Know That I Am God", by Elder David A. Bednar.  He taught using the above scripture and explained it's meaning in beautiful detail.  I was then asked to teach the Adult Sunday School class this past Sunday and this scripture was the basis of the lesson.  So - I spent a lot of time this month studying these words.  Little did I know that the winds and the hail and his mighty storm would come and knock at our door - more on that in a minute - and that I am so grateful that my life is built on the Rock of Jesus Christ who is very mindful of our family and sent "angels" to help us endure the storm and the damage that happened.  

The picture above is a new painting of Jesus Christ by Anthony Sweat. He collaborated with his colleague Matthew Gray who is an Archeologist and Ancient Scripture Professor who specializes in First Century Ancient Art, Archaeological Remains, Bone Analysis and Literary Descriptions during the time of Jesus Christ.  Their presentation was:  Re-Picturing the Redeemer Visualizing a Historically Informed Jesus.  Based on their findings and studies of others they gave a presentation that we attended this month and the picture is the culmination of the study.  It takes a minute to process it, but when you learn the context and the history it is actually quite stunning.  I will show the the progression of a small part of the study:

These are based on the earliest pictures found in the early Centuries of time.  Jesus was from a poor family raised in the very small village of Nazareth.  He was a carpenter - in Hebrew that means he was a construction worker/stone mason.  The pictures we see and use today are from 19th Century artists who use Northern European models and ideology for their work.

This is an actual remnant of a tunic from the region in the 1st Century

Above are sandals that have been found.

This is an artist rendering based on historical facts and scriptural descriptions that have been researched.

Based on this information, Dr. Sweat painted this picture of Jesus and submitted it to the 12th Annual Art Show for the Church Museum of Art.  Notice the landscape with the vineyard and stone quarry.  There is a watchtower in the background depicting the "Watchman in the Tower" scripture references.  Christ often used rock and stone in His parables.  He is showing the Cornerstone Rock cut out and being carried by Jesus - The Chief Cornerstone.  

It was a very interesting lecture by both Anthony Sweat and Matthew Gray that opened my eyes and heart to new understanding.  

The picture below is composite drawing of the many faces of Jesus - showing he is unique to each individual person.  His pictures show he is a Builder who works with people, he worked in groups - not alone.  All kinds of people connected with Jesus.  He lived a life of Labor - not luxury.  In Matthew 16 is one of my favorite scriptures - "Whom say ye that I am?"

What does Jesus LOVE like more than what he looks like.  

John 3:2 says, we should be like Him, recognize Him as Gods Son.  

I just wanted to share this new perspective and insight into Jesus Christ.

So - what does all of this have to do with the scripture I started with?  

On August 13 at 6:00 pm a Storm rolled in very quickly and dropped about an inch of hail followed by heavy rains.  There was so much hail on I-15 they had to get the snow plows out and clear the road.  We were busy taking pictures of the hail and worried it would break the windows in the house that we were relieved when it turned to rain.  I had just finished preparing dinner and invited Emily to come down and join us.  I was just finishing the salad and looked out the window.  Muddy water was pouring over the 6 foot Window Well.  I could not even wrap my head around what was happening.  Where was this 

water coming from - it had not been raining very long.  Russ and I rushed outside to see what was happening and we had a lake in our backyard and patio and it was flowing straight into two of our window wells.  We left Texas and flooding behind us and moved to a mountain so we would never have to push water again!!!  The water was sooooo cold because of the hail first and I just had sandals on.  My feet were bright red and frozen within minutes.  I ran back downstairs into our home and saw the mud and water coming in.  I lost it and broke down and cried.  I knew there was not time for me to have a break down and so I pulled myself together and got my rain boots on and then called for help.  Even Logan helped by getting on social media and putting out a CALL FOR HELP.  

Within minutes we had 15 people helping us push water with brooms, buckets and barrels and neighbors who brought sump pumps and wet vacs.  I was overwhelmed with the immediate help that arrived.  You can see the water level at the beginning in the window well.  We were so blessed that the glass held and did not break.  As fast as we were moving the water upstairs there were people wet vacuuming the carpet to keep it from spreading.  All of the furniture in my living room and guest bedroom had to be removed and the carpet pulled up and padding removed.  All of this happened in about 3 hours.  

When it was all cleaned up for the night and fans were. brought in to help dry things up, we went into the kitchen to get dinner and it had been all packaged up and put in the fridge for another day and the dishes cleaned up and put away.  We had some friends coming over that evening to visit and with us out of town the weeks before we had been cleaning ALL day and we were physically and emotionally drained.  We looked at each other and said lets just go get some Pizza for dinner - we have not had pizza for 5 months and it was the only thing open close to our home.  

We still did not know where the water had come from.  The next morning when it was light out we went behind our house to the trail and there was a lake where the trail dips before it climbs again and then drops to street level.  The water from above us on the mountain had come with such great force and pooled at about 4 feet right at our house and took the path of least resistance through our fence and into our yard.  We contacted the city and they came out with Sand bags and made a wall until they can budget and figure out a more permanent solution to a problem they have know about for some time.  They have been really accommodating and helpful.  

It only took two days to dry the carpet and cement and then the work of putting it all back together began.  We called our good friend from Texas, Austin Gee who now lives in the area and does carpeting cleaning.  He came immediately and inspected the damage and determined that it could be cleaned.  With so much help on the night of the flood with wet vacs and carpet cleaners, the mud was mostly removed and it really made a difference and us being able to save the carpet.  He also helped us arrange for a company to come out and reinstall the carpet once it was clean and dry.  

You can see the mud that was along the baseboards along the walls.  We washed all of the walls, windowsills and baseboards and got it ready for the cleaning.  We decided with all of the furniture removed and carpet pulled up it would be a good time to repaint the living room wall.  I did not ever like the color we painted it when we moved in but did not want to move all of the furniture to repaint it.  I am really happy with the softer color that matches better.  

When the winds came and the mighty hail and storm beat upon us - and I felt despair for just a few minutes - the blessing came pouring in with so many people - some I didn't even know and made our burden lighter.  They helped us see hope and that we could get through this even when it seemed so overwhelming.  There is no insurance for floods and we were so grateful we did not have wall damage or any furniture destroyed.  I had some valuable pictures just under the windowsill in the bedroom and our computers and I got those moved when I came inside to get my rain boots on - a tender mercy.  

We were so busy we did not see the double rainbow at the end of the storm but a neighbor captured it and it truly depicts that tomorrow the Sun will shine and better days will come.  

We can certainly say we are staying active and don't have time to get old yet.  It just takes us a little longer to get things done.  

We got a little reprieve from the house cleanup and spent the next week Hosting at BYU Education Week.  This is our 4th year Hosting and it is a highlight of our Summer.  We are there for 12 hours Monday - Friday - so very long days filled with serving, learning, walking campus and enjoying seeing friends.  It was so fun to look up in the Marriott Center and see my special friend, Ruth Black.  It was a great reunion even if it was only for a few minutes before class each day.  I still can't do selfies but wanted a memory together.  We also saw Richard and Claudia Pickering, Julie Barton, Cindy Parco and new friends we made while hosting.  

One of the classes we enjoyed was "The Founding Fathers and Their Spouses - Heroes or Villains?  by Tad Callister

"Jesus is still in control.  He wasn't voted in and he can't be voted out." Judah Smith

This was a great class as we prepare for the upcoming Elections.  It was not about what party to vote for or fear of what is ahead for America.  It was a look at history and those values our country was founded upon.  In the end - we need to be more concerned about being on the Lord's side and trusting in Him.  

FRIENDS

We started the Month in Texas with wonderful reunions with many friends.  I did not get photos of everyone but will share a few highlights.

Oh how I have missed these wonderful ladies and lunch gatherings.  I am so grateful to Lisa Brinkerhoff, Wendy Collmar, Mary Lolotii, Dolores Richey and Judy Carroll for making the time to drive and join together for lunch.  The time went so fast and it was so good to catch up on the goings on in everyones lives.  These ladies have been friends for a most of my adult life and blessed me in so many ways.  They will always be my forever friends.  

We stayed with Phil and Lisa Brinkerhoff at their cozy Brinkerhoff BnB - they are always so gracious to open their home to those in need.  We love our time with them and their gracious hospitality.  

We visited with Maxine and Ron Hoff - sorry no picture.  They will always be "family" to us as we played a small part of them becoming a family.  

We made a side trip to Belton Texas to visit our Mission friends, Randy and Claudia Bretzing.

We were so excited when they told us they were moving to Texas from Arizona and then our plans changed and we moved to Utah the same week they moved to Texas.  We have so many memories together and loved being together again even if it was just a few hours.  They have become Texans and continue to bless so many people as they serve as Ward Mission Leader and Relief Society President.  They weathered their first tornado with the help of many volunteers and our prayers are with them as they face new challenges in the coming year.  Oh, how we LOVE the Bretzing's!

We also took a small detour and visited the Temple site in Burleson, TX.  It will be such a blessing to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints in the Fort Worth area.  It will be a beautiful building and a sacred place that will be a beacon of light for everyone in the area.  This is a picture of what the completed building will look like.  Below is a picture of the current state of construction.  

We look forward to the Open House next year and hope to attend with our Texas friends.

It would not be a complete trip to Texas without a visit to Granbury to visit with Faye Landham.  She has been a friend for over 30 years and we have shared our love of Jesus Christ together through the Nativity Display every December for those 30 years.  She is so much apart of our Christmas traditions and we love her so much for her kindness, service in the community and love to all.  We always enjoy our time together and the time went way too fast.  Mark your calendars for the first week of December to plan a visit to historic Granbury for the annual Nativity Display and enjoy some time on the town square.

We have been trying to make our travels more adventures and see more sites along the way.  We returned home via Santa Fe New Mexico.  Oh it definitely  became an adventure.  Just outside of Tucumcari New Mexico our GPS said to exit and go through town - Historic Route 66.  I have learned to trust WAZE and took the Exit.  Russ kept saying that we should have stayed on the freeway.  At that point there was no indication of any problem on the freeway.  All through town - almost a ghost town today - we were looking for why we were directed that way.  We got to the end of town to the freeway onramp and it was backed up with the freeway at a standstill and in fact everyone was out of their cars and it looked like they had been there for a long time.  We did not want to sit on the freeway for hours in the hot sun.  We always keep a paper atlas in the car and we pulled it out and checked for an

alternate route.  We found a small highway that was pretty direct to Santa Fe.  We put it in GPS and off we went.  What a beautiful drive.  There were only three cars on the road the whole 125 miles.  We saw scenery we had never seen before and so enjoyable.  

We arrived in Santa Fe just in time to see a few sites in downtown and have a nice dinner before calling it a day.  There is so much history in this town.  We were disappointed that the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi was closed early for a Concert that evening.  I got to peak in the door as some of the performers were entering.  

This picture is Kateri Tekakwitha - 1656-1680.  She was the first Indian of north America to be Promoted a Saint.  

This historic Church is the Oldest Church structure in the USA.  It is only open One Sunday per month for services.  

A walk through historic Old Town is always an experience.  So much art and jewelry.  They keep the town very clean and definitely cater the tourists.  We just window shopped and enjoyed the culture and people watching.  

We enjoyed the drive through Durango Colorado and then to Moab - stopped for dinner and finally home.  We traveled over 4,000 miles in July and August covering most of the Northwest States and everything between there and Texas.  

We returned to Wichita Kansas for 5 days at the end of the month to stay with Brian's kids while Brian and Beth each went on Business trips.  It is always a great time being with Will and Nora.  

Flying always seems to be an adventure for us.  We have been flying standby for 45 years and know what that can mean but it is getting harder to count on things to go smoothly.  There seems to be more mechanical and weather problems affecting flights.  The flight from Dallas to Wichita changed while we were in the air from Salt Lake.  The flight before our planned flight was delayed until 5:00 AM the next morning so they put as many as they could on our flight that had over 30 available seats when we left Salt Lake.  That meant we had to stay overnight at the airport - at least there is a Hyatt Hotel and then we left early Sunday morning for Wichita.  It is a 50 minute flight and went smoothly.  As we approached Wichita we could see the storm clouds moving in and then the lightening.  We just wanted to make it to the gate before the storm hit.  They had a unique weather situation with a heat burst - at 8:00 AM it jumped to 94 degrees and a horrific lightening storm and then the temperatures dropped back to the 70's.  We landed and then could not go to the gate due to the lightening.  We sat for an hour on the tarmac watching the storm all around us.  Finally there was an opening that they allowed the ground crews to be out on the tarmac.  We pulled into the gate and they tried to move the jet bridge into place and it would not move.  They called maintenance and they determined it was broken and not usable.  Now the storm increased and we had to sit until another plane could load and leave and open up a spot for us.  Two hours later we finally were able to move gates and get off of the plane.  Always an adventure for us.  

The winds and the storms continue to be in our life and the tender mercies of the Lord continue to bless us and strengthen us to endure and keep going.  

FAMILY

We returned home from Texas just in time to see Preslee preform in the Scera Theatre performance of Frozen Jr.  She did so good as an Ice Fairy and it was so fun seeing her up on the big stage.  She is growing into a beautiful young woman.  Her activities keep us busy.

The next night was the 100 Years of Lindon Parade.  We love our little community of Lindon.  It was a beautiful evening and fun to see Preslee and her cheer team in the parade.  

Preslee has waited since Christmas to go and watch the Broadway tour group of Hamilton in Salt Lake City - they were a Christmas gift.   She and Emily had a mother daughter night and it was everything she had dreamed it would be.  She loves that show and knows all of the songs.  It was a gift worth waiting for.

It is Football Season.  First Football game  - our Saturdays just got scheduled.  This is the first year she knows some of the football players and it is going to be a great cheer season.  The life of an 8th grader - so many new experiences to look forward to.  

SWISS DAYS IN MIDWAY UTAH

We finally were in town this year to go to Swiss Days.  They had over 60,000 people attend and it was such a fun day.  My Sisters came and went with us and we enjoyed the beauty of Midway and the festivities that went with it.  The Bratwurst with sauerkraut on the Best Rye Bread was worth the trip.  I couldn't get anyone to pose in the picture but I took it anyway for a memory.  Already making plans to go next year.  It would be fun to get all of the Senior Missionary Couples from our mission and make it apart of a reunion gathering.  

BYU FOOTBALL SEASON OPENER!  It was a happy night in our home as they won their first game of the season.  Russ even opened his new BYU game day t-shirt and wore it today to celebrate.  

My sister, Brooke and her husband Kirt spent the weekend with us.  The best weekend to close out the Summer and to look forward to Fall.  We had the best food and played so many games.  I love when they come - it brings out my competitive spirit as we play Farkle, Five Crowns, SkyJo, Rummicub, and ones I don't even know the names of.  We laugh so much - or lets say they laugh at me for taking it so seriously.  It is good for my soul being with them.  I am so grateful to live close enough that they can drive the 5 hours from Ontario Oregon to visit and we can have family time.  

When she called and said they had a major plumbing problem with the main water line to their home and business broken and that the water needed to be turned off until the plumbers could come out on Tuesday - and could they come and spend the weekend - we were excited to have them come.  With arriving home on Thursday night and our home still without all of the furniture back in place - this gave us a reason to work hard and get it all put back together in one day.  It was like moving in day.  The couch, mantel, TV (most important to Russ) dishes back in the hutch and books back in the bookcases and we were back to normal.  Always good to have a deep clean and give away things you don't need anymore even if the timing of the flood was not convenient.   I just can't figure out how all of the books and things came off the shelves and into boxes the night of the storm and when I tried to put them back there was too much stuff to fit.  Where did it all come from?  

And so as we began this month we end with clouds and lightening in the sky with rainbows on the horizon for brighter days.  

Much Love,

The Grimmett's