Merry Christmas

 

There are alot of things to like about this video.   The sheep.  The New Zealand accents.  The Star.  The soundtrack.  The cinematagrophy.  The third Wiseman.

 

 

Cute retelling of the traditional Christmas Story. 

 

 

Enjoy!

Gratitude Month - Experiences



Today I am grateful for the opportunity I had to visit the National Cathedral of Denmark in Copenhagen (The Church of Our Lady), and to see the most beautifully carved marble statues of Christ and his Twelve Apostles.

 

The statues were carved in the early 1800's by (Karl Albert) Bertel Thorvaldsen, a Danish sculptor.  And the Christus in particular, is considered to be the "most perfect statue of Christ in the world".

 

I have seen Thorvaldsen's work before.   The Lion Monument in Luzern, Switzerland is one my favorite places in all of Switzerland.   And there is a replica Christus in Salt Lake City at the Salt Lake Temple Visitor's Center.   But nothing prepared me for seeing the original Christus in person.   I can barely describe it in words to be honest.   It was breathtaking.   Maybe it was the gold leafing behind the statue, maybe it was something more divine, but it really came alive....and I could not take my eyes off of it.

 

The statues of the Twelve Apostles are also wonderful.   I really, really love how Thorvaldsen did something to capture the personality of each Apostle.  I think Thomas is my favorite.

 

Here are the pictures from my trip, I hope you enjoy them, but if you ever get the chance I hope you go to see them in person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gratitude Post - Religion

 

Today I am grateful for the influence of religion in my life.   And by that I mean actual religion, not just spirituality, because I have met many spiritual people who had nothing to do with organized religion.   I too have had many spiritual experiences outside the realm of traditional religion, but traditional religion has also brought me much joy throughout the years.  

 

It may be hard to understand considering the pre-conceived  notions most people have about my chosen religion, but believe me when I say, that I find and have found beauty in many different religions.   In Utah alone I have visited and communed with the congregants of the Hindu Temple, the Hare Krishna Temple, the Jewish Synagogue, the Greek Orthodox, the Catholic Community,  the Buddhists, etc.   I have loved every second of it, and if I am very honest I have felt more welcome in their arms than I have in the arms of my own congregations on occasion - I am talking about you Congregation Kol Ami.

 

And I expect from everyone, but don't always get, the kind of consideration and love that I so gladly give my fellow faithful, in return.   It boggles my mind really.   What I have found is that most religions at their core really just teach love.   Be kind to others.   You know the Golden Rule and all.   Yet, so many people (not religions, the people within the religions) spend their time spewing hatred and intolerance.  It shouldn't matter if my idea of the Trinity doesn't match yours, am I a good person?  Are you?   Enough said. 

 

And again, if I am being honest, I don't always understand or personally agree with some of the positions taken by my church.   However, at the core of my religion, is the idea of free agency.   And contrary to popular thought, I am allowed to make my own decisions.   I think if you know me at all, you would know that I would never belong to a church that didn't allow me to have an opinion or to make up my own mind about something.  In fact, it is encouraged in my church for EVERYONE to study it out, pray about it, and find the truth for themselves.

 

So having said that, I am now going to talk about the 2nd most taboo topic in any polite conversation....no not sports.....politics.

 

Let me blunt, I would be very disappointed to find out that anyone voted for a candidate because he was a certain religion or against a candidate because he was a certain religion.   That is not what this country is about.   And the fact that we are still having this debate in the year 2012 is kind of sad to me.   You would think after John F. Kennedy's troubles with being Roman Catholic, we would have learned our lesson.  But no.  I believe both candidates are good men.  In fact, I who voted for President Obama in the last election, have waffled back and forth because I really believe sincerely that each man would do good for our country but in different ways.   I just urge you to really search your mind for the issues that are important to you, and then decide who best represents your interests on those issues.  Please don't make it a religious issue, or a race issue, or any of the other small trivial issues that clog up the importance of electing the leader of the greatest nation on earth.  Yes that sounded extremely cocky, but whatever.  

 

I leave you with two things.

 

A quote from John F. Kennedy -

 

"I hope that no American will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation.  It is not relevant."

 

And...

 

This link to an article that might help you debunk any pre-conceived ideas you might had about the Mormon faith.  And as always if you did have any questions and wanted to ask me, I am more than happy to answer what I can.  I welcome thoughtful and respectful conversation.   I promise I won't send the cute little missionaries to your house.  (unless you wanted me to)

 

12 myths about Mormons — From caffeine to the Bible to birth control

Setting the record straight about LDS beliefs on Christ, polygamy, politics, temples and more

By Peggy Fletcher Stack

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Nov 01 2012 11:29 am • Last Updated Nov 02 2012 05:31 pm

 

 

 

 



Out of the mouth of babes...

This past Sunday I was reminded of why it delights me to teach the children at church.

I taught the 5 year olds this week and we were having a lesson on how we can tell that Jesus loves us and how we can show Jesus that we love him.   I asked the question..."What has Jesus given us to show us that he loves us?".   Then we went around the room.   One little girl said "our moms and dads", the next little girl said "animals, especially baby ducks", the next little girl said "flowers", and bless his heart the one little boy said "Jack Sparrow".

And you know what?   I think he's absolutely correct and I too am grateful for Jack Sparrow...

and also 5 year olds.

Christmas Cheer - Day Four

Super beautiful rendition of 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' by Enya.

"The text is based on the biblical prophecy from Isaiah 7:14 that states that God will give Israel a sign that will be called Immanuel (Lit.: God with us). Matthew 1:23 states fulfillment of this prophecy in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth."

Happy Sunday everyone!

Lent

So...I know I am not Catholic, but I think the tradition of giving up a vice for Lent is a pretty cool thing. I decided today that I would give up swearing, and then within an hour of that I had said about 3 swear words. So I scrapped that idea and decided to give up something that is truly a problem for me. And that is my fruit punch flavored Welch's Fruit Snacks addiction. I am serious like a heart attack about this too. I calculated the other day that my fruit snacks addiction may have surpassed my Diet Coke addiction in terms of money spent per week. Disgraceful I tell you. So you heard it here first...for the next 40 days I will refrain from purchasing (even if they are on sale) or eating Welch's Fruit Snacks.

On a more serious note...I read this about Lent on Wikipedia today.


"There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.[9]"

I didn't actually know about the other two acts of penance - prayer and almsgiving. But it sounds so nice to me that I think I will incorporate all three into my life for the next 40 days.

How about you?

Summer Obsessions

Normally I don't drink smoothies, or milk shakes, or Jamba Juices. I tend to be strictly a Diet Coke and Water (not together) kind of gal. But I can't get enough of these Strawberry/Banana smoothies at McDonalds this Summer.

My new favorite place to eat, and it's in Provo. I know...shocking, right? Provo actually has fine dining. Last time I went I had home made smores for dessert. Oh my goodness, I am almost tempted to learn how to make marshmellows myself.

My 2 favorite movies this Summer. Inception and Toy Story 3.

Inception is a cool kids kind of movie. Smart, imaginative, thought provoking.

Toy Story 3 is just sweet.

Mad Men is some of the best written TV I have ever seen. And Don Draper is not difficult to look at.

I love, love, love Muse.

And I love, love, love this little guy. With those sweet, chubby, pinchable cheeks. My baby nephew Samuel. Isn't he a love?

My 'Egg'ceptional Photo Shoot - also known as - Easter in the Country

I don't know what possessed me to decide that I needed to have a photo shoot with the Easter eggs, but I really like how it turned out. What do you think?

I like how the cow is trying to be nonchalant in this shot. She later came over and tried to get her face right in my business. Nosy!

I love grape hyacinth, and apparently so does this egg.

I am not sure how one makes things be in focus whilst other things are out of focus, this shot was just dumb luck on my part. I really need to take a photography class.

We hid this one just like this to see if the boys would be able to find it. They would have totally missed it a few years ago, but I guess they are getting wise to our hiding techniques.

I think this wasp catcher thingie is cool.

Scout is such a diva.

A word about faith... if you are at all interested...if you aren't I promise I won't be offended

I was reading another blog today and she had a link to a video of a 20 year old Harvard Junior giving an interview on being "Mormon". I thought she did an excellent job. She was articulate and eloquent, and am quite sure that I would not have been so cool headed when I was her age. At any rate, I think there are alot of misconceptions about my chosen religion and I don't know if everyone is comfortable with asking me questions about it. So if you are at all interested in hearing a bit about what an L.D.S. person believes in, then I think you will find this video clip to be a safe way to found out.

Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.