A thought for truth.

I had a conversation where I was communicating certain observations I was making within the realms of Astrology.  I know, I know, it's incredibly far-fetched and certainly new-agey.  But I just can't help to see some very interesting "coincidences", or I suspect, certain truths within it.  (And no, I'm not talking about how on tuesday, every Gemini will find a new love interest)  

My friend, a person who shares my religious view, communicated certain skepticism and made the comment that if it doesn't come through the veins of church leaders, she just doesn't believe it.  

I mulled that over. And, to me, it feels incredibly closed.  

It's like I can see all these lights of truth around me.  Hundreds of truths everywhere I look!  Starting with things that have been on my mind most recently, but not limited to: differing political view points, basic natural tendencies, psychic power - ok, I know I've just freaked you out, and sciences of all sorts. 

I see hundreds of different lights of truth.  Some of my friends see some of them.  Other friends see a different set.  And they argue about which is really true.  And I see them all and think to myself, "why can't they both be true?  How come they can't all be lights that emanate from the same sphere of truth?!"  I observe certain fallacies within them, and perhaps a change necessary in future perfection, but there are certain points of truth that are the burgeoning of the fundamental philosophy.  But we get lost in the ticky-tacky.

Then I came across a quote from Brigham Young that said, "Mormonism embraces all truth that is revealed and that is not revealed, whether religious, political, scientific, or philosophical." 

I thought of Christ and the creation of the Earth.  Is He not the ultimate scientist?  He took the elements of the Earth; dust, water, particles and created life!  Also, He commanded the seas to obey Him! He was a master healer who realigned human defect enabling the blind to see, the palsy whole, and the leper cleansed.  He walked on water!

Yet, He still obeyed all the laws of physics. He just knew more about science than we mortals. And since His purpose in coming was not to teach science, but to bring eternal truths that would lead to salvation, He left the science lessons out and instead spoke of behavior (which lesson we struggle to master and I also believe to be fundamental in our understanding for any of the rest of it). 

I must admit, never once in attending church have I had a science lesson.  Yet there is truth within it.  Just because my religious leaders didn't speak of it, doesn't make it untrue.  And that's just science!  What about the rest of it?!  

Our gift is to seek for personal development.  Our gift is to seek for ".. anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy".  The article of faith 13 makes no mention of it to be only within Church walls.  As understood from John 17:11-17, We are to be in the world, but not of the world!   

I do not believe in closing my mind to the truth that is in the air.  I choose to use my religious knowledge as my base of understanding for everything else.  And it's not something I will release my grip on.  It is my ground.  Where would I be if I didn't have something to stand on?  And what could be more firm footing than God and his divine principles?  

I will continue to find truth in the essence of life all around me.  I believe God is in control of the whole world.  I believe it is all going according to His plan.  How can He not be everywhere within the truth of it's creation in some way or another?  And I will seek the Holy Spirit of God to alight upon me and verify to my heart whether the things I view are true or not.  I believe He will reveal certain connecting dots that I am unable to comprehend on my own because He "knoweth all things."  Which thing I certainly cannot claim.  But I will not close my heart to understanding them.  

It is all within the right attitude where all things can be learned.  If you close your mind to something, you close your ability to learn about it. I pray my attitude will continue to allow development and that my mind will never be closed to what I might find that is good and true.

...me


As a side note, I'm sure that my friend would agree that there is truth in science.  Gravity is just too easy.  My point is, what truths have we closed our minds to?  For whatever reason, are our minds closed to seeing the truth that could be within something that we would, at first glance, choose to ignore or judge as false before we inspect it?  

A Perfect Park Evening

My hubby Alan came up with the idea for the Elder's Quorum to host a Family Home Evening in the park.  

All the families brought their own dinners.  We played at the pool all day, so were thankful for KFC!  Kale said that the McDonald's catch phrase of "I'm lovin' it" Should belong to KFC instead. I agree.  


Alan was the master of dutch oven pineapple upside down cake (which was fabulous!).


Afterwards he shared a thought from the life experience of Heber J. Grant about determination and not giving up on your weaknesses. It was quite nice.  

And then we played together!  It was so great to have a quiet evening with friends at the park.  The Mullis Family brought their Tug-o-War rope, and we had at it!!


I was amused that when it came time for the adults to take a turn, they all stood around like they weren't quite sure how to play.  And I don't mean, play Tug-o-War, I mean play.  Have we, as adults, forgotten what it's like to want to play and compete? Have we forgotten the joy and thrill of the game??  Well, I guess I shouldn't say that we've forgotten, but it took a minute to get the idea back.  I think when it boils down to it, we all have some kid in there somewhere.  And when we let our inner kid out to play, it's incredibly fun!  


Great night!  Great friends!  Great fun!  


...Me

Father's Day

Father's Day


I was in charge of creating the Father's Day gift for the primary kids in our ward.  Though I can't claim this idea, I can claim the creation of this tag!   Then, I printed it off and tied it to a little baggie of swedish fish that the kids were able to give to their dads on father's day.  It turned out SUPER cute.  Anyway, great idea for Father's day!   




... me

A new discovery on Dad.

My Dad.  He is such a confusing creature.  And someone I have spent much time pondering.  There is so much I appreciate him for.  And so much from him that I have had to overcome.  I have chosen to see the good in him.  For there is good to be seen. So why look at the bad when it doesn't accomplish any good?  No need to run on a rat wheel.  I prefer getting somewhere.   


Well, I learned something new about him that made me feel pride for him.  And since I love to share good stories, here it is!  


My father was an excellent swimmer.  He taught hundreds of kids to swim for many years.  He worked as a lifeguard and became the instructor of instructors in certifying new      lifeguards.  I have always known this.  On many more than one occasion,  someone I hardly knew would learn that I was his daughter and would exclaim, "I love your dad! He taught me to swim!"


As my sons are taking swimming lessons this summer, his interest in the subject was peaked.  And he shared a piece of his child-life experience with us.  


His mother was excessively fearful and overly-protective of her loved ones.  I knew this too, but somehow failed to connect a couple of dots. 


He told us that he attended a youth activity as a 12-year-old boy.  They were going to attend the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City to do service work.  But before they went there, the leader said, let's stop at the pool and go for a swim.  My dad and his brother Gary looked at each other a little panicked because neither of them knew how to swim. 


Wait.  What?  


You were 12 and didn't know how to swim?!  My expert swimming father who was the teacher of teachers didn't know how to SWIM?  Hasn't he swum all of his life?! 


Of course he didn't know how to swim.  Pools = drowning.  Pools = death!  No way was his mother going to let her precious baby boys anywhere near death!  


Oh yes, of course.  I knew that. I missed it.  But I knew it.  


So, they got in the pool chest-deep and stood there together watching as all of their peers paddled away; splashing and swimming without a care. Without fear. Without inability. 


With their feet firmly planted on the pool floor they walked through the pool, both of them imitating the swimmer's arm stroke. Pretending. 


Embarrassed and aware of his deficiency, my father approached his father and asked for help.  So my grandpa took him to the pool and taught him the few things he knew about how to swim.  


My father took that information and used it as a platform for his future path.  My father is a rebel.  I have found this trait to be a blessing and a curse.  In this situation, it was only a blessing. He rebelled against the idea that pools = drowning and death.  He didn't cater to the fear!  In fact, the hiding from swimming and fear of swimming only creates weakness therein.  And within that weakness is where death lies.  


He became and excellent swimmer!  He was an excellent teacher!  He didn't want that weakness to be a weakness for anyone else! He was encouraging, supportive, instructive and motivating! He taught his children to swim as soon as they were able!   


And for me. Swimming has been a huge part of my life.  And it will be in my children's life.  To me, swimming is a mandatory life-saving skill.  And I am so thankful my father taught me that.  I am thankful that I have his example to look at and see that weaknesses can become great strengths if we choose to tackle them head on! 


I'm proud of him.  I am proud of his courage to acknowledge the weakness.  I am proud that he didn't let it hold him back.  I am proud that he became one of the best.  I am proud that he chose to pass on all the good that he found to as many other people as he could.  


And I think we could all learn a thing or two from that kind of courage and rebellion.


Lesson noted. Thanks, Dad.  

The Beginning.

A thought for the start

I love keeping a journal.  Though I am horrible about writing in them.  And, when I do pen in my journal, I have a tendency to ramble; to sort of get it all out.  But often, I wish for a backspace and and edit key to reform my words and meaning.  <Enter computer>

I am a constant thinker. Constantly, I have random thoughts running, perspectives forming, ideas budding, problems sorting, and questions posing. And journaling helps me sort them, grow them, and understand them (too seldom utilized).  I am often at the computer and I think a blog is just the right thing to help me along my life-journey.  Computer!  Edit!  Backspace!  Consistent writing!   Documented!  Fire/flood/earthquake/tornado/tsumani/hurricane proof! (Though I doubt Zombie Apocalypse proof) 

I believe God has given me insight to know that writing my thoughts and opinions is very beneficial for me, and perhaps important somehow.  And as I wish to contribute to the good of the world, I hope that my thoughts, sent out there into the universe, will somehow be appreciated.  That they will somehow inspire.  That they will find a friend along the way.  I also hope that one day, If ever interested, my children will be able to understand who I am as they look through it.

We never get to see our parents as they were when they were young.  Only how age has grown them.  Always being a generation below them.  How interesting would it be to be able to read about their life at 30 while I am at 30? I will always wonder. But I hope my children won't have to.  

I listened to an experience of a young mother who was diagnosed with breast cancer and was in the throws of fighting for her life quite unexpectedly.  And she said that one of her first thoughts after learning the serious diagnosis, was how she hadn't kept a journal.  Her young children might not ever know her.  They wouldn't know what she thought about or how she felt about life.  And the thought stuck with me.  

My children are so incredibly dear to my heart.  I desire nothing more than to be able to raise them and teach them, as well as spend my life learning from them. But, we aren't promised tomorrow. Our moments are numbered, and we never know when they are on the countdown.  Life is so precious.  And in an attempt to express myself and give to my children and understanding of me in ways they may not understand yet, I begin this blog.

There will be thoughts!  There will be fun experiences!  There will be questions and confusions!  There will be pictures and recipes!  There will be memories! There will be weakness and strength!  There will be mistakes and achievements!  There will be a mixed bag of all sorts of things.  There will be all things pertaining to me. Because, it's just me here. And be prepared... I'm sort of random.

... Me