"I am going across the plains and I will take..."

When I was little, I remember playing the game "I am going across the plain and I will take..."  The next person repeats the phrase including the previously mentioned item and one of their own. The game continues while people each add an item.  As a little kid, I thought it was great, even though I was not very good. I guess it was my grandma's way of helping me to a bit about my heritage. I have ancestors who crossed the plains. They gave up so much for a religious belief. They left family, friends, country, and comfort because they believed strongly that Christ Church had been restored to the Earth in its fullness. It is a strong reminder of the heritage I have.  I have been given much.  I sometimes wonder, is my testimony that strong?  I know that the only way I can strengthen my testimony is through study (yeah for scripture reading) and prayer. It is nice to know God has established a way for everyone to gain their own personal testimony.  I do have testimony that God's church has been restored to the Earth today.  I believe that Thomas S. Monson is a man called of God like Abraham, Isaac and Moses.  He testifies of Christ.  

Music... Christmas

Music is the heart beat of the world!!!  I love music.  Right now (yes I know it is random!) I am listening to Indian music.  I do not understand a word of it, but it just makes me happy.  It has a beat that makes me want to dance.

I am always amazed to see how powerful music really is.  Some people use hard rock to get anger out of their system, and for others, that same song can create discord within them.  I fall into the second category; hard music makes me tense and I am not so much a fan.  On the other hand, light music can really make me happy.  I think this is why I LOVE Christmas music.  Ahhh... It is finally legal to play Christmas music all the time without people getting mad at me.

It seems so random, but the Mormon Tabernacle Choir does make me very happy.  There sound is so traditional, but it is just good Christmas music.  I truly feel spiritually strengthen after listening to their songs (not so much the secular ones... though those are fun).  Other Christmas favorites are White Christmas (and all the rest of the music in the movie), The Messiah, Sleigh Ride, and The Chipmunk Christmas song!!! 

Light up the world!

It makes me sad that it will not snow.  Already we are in December and the world refuses to be painted white. I think of all the exciting things that happen when it snows.  We get to have snowball fights, build snowmen, and go skiing!!  I love it.  I could get all sentimental here and talk about how snow covers the dying and lets it sleep until it can be renewed by spring but I do not feel like it. Instead, I think I will talk about Christmas and lights. I do believe the lights at Christmas are one of my favorite things. When I was little, I would lie underneath the Christmas tree an look up at all the white lights in the branches. To me, they looked like a million stars that had been captured in my own living-room. Later in the Christmas season, we would all take a drive through town to see the how people had decorated their various houses. To me it seemed to be just a magical aspect of Christmas, but the other day in a Christmas devotional given by the leaders of my church (LDS), they talked about how Christ is the light of the world, and when we see those beautiful Christmas lights, we should remember how it is symbolic. They of course said it more elegantly than that, but it was a good reminder, and for me it is nice to think about how Christ doesn't just help us with the religious aspect, but he is making the world a better place. 

Time is Ticking Away

Time is a fascinating thing to me.  It passes so quickly at times, but at other times it seems to crawl as slow as a snail.  For example, last week vanished before it even started (and of course I did not get all the homework done that I needed to). Before I know it, finals will be over and I will be heading home for Christmas.  That will be a blessed day. 

 I realized today, that it has been almost a year and a half since my little brother left to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  A year and a half since I have seen the kid! A year and a half is a long time, but at least he is doing good stuff.  He sends letters telling about the hard times (when people are really rude), but he also sends letters about how he as learned so much about Christ and the scriptures.  It seems weird to think of my soccer playing sporty brother sharing his belief in God, and at the same time very cool. He shares serves opportunities he has had in his letters and it reminds me that I should also be serving.  Sometimes I feel (actually I know) that I get to caught up in school and what I have to do.  I do not take time to think about what others are need.  Then, I get a lovely letter from my brother. Time does pass, but at least we can be better for having lived through the previous day.

religious art

The other day for class, our professor decided to take us to the campus art museum to look at the religious art currently on display.  I found it fascinating to see how different religious scenes were displayed.  For example, there was a picture of Mary's annunciation, and Mary was depicted as this woman in white standing in an English garden.  It was a beautiful painting from the Victorian period, and yet not how I had ever pictured the event.  There were many pictures depicting the miracles Christ performed, and also his crucifixion. I loved the painting of Christ healing at the Well of Bethesda.  For me, this painting embodies a lot of how I view Christ. 

It demonstrates his divinity, while showing his mercy.  Christ is so kind as he looks down at this poor individual.  He has so much compassion for what the person is feeling. He does not judge, but offers help.  He is reaching out his hand, and it is up to the person (and also us) to accept his offer. We must accept his offer to help. This painting is such a comforting painting.  I do know that Christ is my Savior.  I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is his church restored to the Earth.  Simply typing it fills me with a peace and joy.  

setting the world aglow

Fall really is an amazing time of year.  The leaves are so changing to brilliant colors, the air has a snappy quality to it, and yet it all signifies death.  Soon the leaves will fall off the trees and cover the earth, soon the earth will be covered in snow, and soon all the busy insects will be gone.  Nature seems to be teaching me a lesson.  I am young, and yet everything has a season.  Like the leaves I also will die at some point.  No one has a choice when it comes to dying, the choice I have is to make sure I do not die with any regrets.  I do not want to look back and regret the life I have lived. I plan to live my life as though I am going to die tomorrow, but plan my life for dying in a hundred years. This means I am going to take a walk in the autumn leaves today (well not literally today because it is dark and quite frankly the would defeat the purpose of taking a walk through autumn leaves), I am going to hike the mountain that I have always wanted to hike, I am going to be a good person (sometimes I struggle.  Why can people not call me when they want to set up an appointment instead of repeatedly going through random people!).  I want to live a good, productive, and happy life so that when I have my autumn, it will be the beautiful autumn I see when I drive through the mountains. The kind of autumn the sets the world aglow and and makes death a glory.  The kind of autumn that reminds us that the next stage (death) is not that bad.  Here is to a very random post.

elections are coming!

It seems so odd that soon it will be election day and I must cast my vote for whom I want to be the next president of the United States.  I have watched the debates, I have discussed the issues and I have decided I am going to write about my opinion on marriage because that is something I do know (quite clearly I do not have strong convictions on other stuff).  I find it fascinating to hear the debate whirling around marriage.  I guess I grew up in a conservative town with small town ideas ( you wave to everyone who drives by because you just might know them). My parents  always taught me was to be kind to others and treat everyone as equals. I feel in this debate over marriage, people are mixing up what the concept of equality with the basic definitions. For thousands of years marriage has been defined as the union between a man and a woman. I am also a very religious person ( The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and have read the old and new testament repeatedly. These text that I accept as the word of God (both the old and new) do support marriage as being between a man and a woman.  That doesn't mean that people who wish to create alternative homes do not have the right to. If people have a desire to live together, that is their choice. If a patient in a hospital decides to have a friend/ partner visit them or have rights to medical files, they should have the choice. By definition though, marriage is the a union between a man and a woman. In this election, California will again be voting on the definition of marriage. I fully support proposition 8.