Curious Workmanship

So, I have two new favorite phrases:"Drops of Awesome" and "curious workmanship."  I cannot tell you how many times today I have thought of the two!

Made pumpkin bread for breakfast for my family after scraping out all the squash I over-cooked last night!--drop of awesome!

Didn't brush my teeth, but did do my hair before frantically running out the door to catch up with my family that was on their way to the bus!--drop of awesome!

Made the bus.  That completely counts as a drop of awesome!

And right now, I could totally be doing ONE MILLION other things, but am here, on the computer, with my two babies in my lap, and trying to smile at them, and not worry about what I am not doing, and just enjoy them before they change.  Complete drop of awesome!  I can do this life, one drop at a time :)...

You get the picture.

Well, this morning, I read a few scriptures (drop of awesome!) in between getting things ready for that frantic bus trip to Budapest and came across the phrase "curious workmanship."  I am quite sure I have posted on this before, but re-learned this lesson and need to write about it...again :).

Nephi has just been instructed to build a ship and his brothers have, literally, been shocked into helping him. (1 Nephi 18:1-4)

...and we did work timbers of curious ^bworkmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time (not everyday!)after what manner I should work the timbers of the ^cship.

 2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men,  (he didn't have the internet, poor fellow!)neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; ...

 3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did ^apray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord ^bshowed unto me ^cgreat things.

 4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine;

Building a ship was a such a huge project!  And Nephi had never done anything like it before.  Sounds like my life!  Parenting, homeschooling, new country and language...all of which have their times when they feel like huge projects and uncharted territory.  Or, how about, just waking up and dealing with contrary-Maryness? :)

So, a couple things stuck out to me...

-He went to the mount oft...he did pray oft.  (Probably more than just token "checking in" at night :).)
Nephi knew he needed God to help him, so he went to Him more often.  How often do I go to the Lord for real direction?  Like the kind of direction Nephi needed about tools, measurements, and dimensions? ...and the Lord showed unto him great things!

-He did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men...and he got something exceedingly fine!  How often do we look sideways to measure our progress instead looking upwards for inspiration of where we can go?  Sometimes, our inspiration causes us to do something that looks a little "outside-the-box" :)...can we have faith enough to act? (Like standing in front of all those Hungarians taking pictures of our family like we were a side-show to the pig slaughtering festival :)? I must confess I waver!)

-The boat was of curious workmanship, and it turned out exceedingly fine.  "Curious workmanship".  Is that the same as "weird"? :)  As I look at my family, we feel a little like "curious workmanship."  I thought of that as we walked through the streets of Budapest today, with people's expressions as dark and gloomy as the weather as they stoicly watched us walk by.  Curious workmanship.  I thought of that with some of the truths that we do in our family, traditions that look just a little different, different from the manner "which is learned by men."

Little phrases.  So powerful.

Drops of Awesome.  Curious Workmanship.

Tender mercies.