Living my Religion

The Earth has officially been flooded

What do Snoop Doggy Dog and the Book of Mormon have in common?

They could very well both be victims of a crazy blogger snapping a photo or photoshop (you decide)
Check it out on Mia’s blog. Thanks to Renee for the link…it most definitely made my day.

And, as for the post title. Here is the quote from a Latter-day prophet, Ezra Taft Benson: “The Book of Mormon is the instrument that God designed to ‘sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out [His] elect’ (Moses 7:62). This sacred volume of scripture needs to become more central in our preaching, our teaching, and our missionary work.” Ensign, Oct 2005, 60–62

A New Blog Slacker Friend

A while back Cally posted about a lime popsicle….you all must go and read this story, if you haven’t already..I busted into tears when I retold the story to LG. (he has just learned to smile at my womanliness)

Well, I am proud to say that I have made a blogging friend out of the lime popsicle story writer ( I just don’t know her name -isn’t the blogging world great?). I just loved this post where she referred to herself as a blog slacker. I am most definitely going to have to steal this term!

Sunday Fun

Here is a good joke for your next Old Testament Lesson:

The Whole Lot

A father was reading Bible stories to his young son. He read, “The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city, but his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.”

The son asked, “What happened to the flea?”

The Sacrament That Spoke To Me
This may be the only Easter post that I find the time for this year.
I have just been so swamped.
I guess I am really playing catch up for blogging way too much for the past month or so.
Tonight, while deciding which post to do first,
I decided to start with the one that meant the most to me.
I hope that is o.k. with the rest of you.

On this Easter Sunday, as I took the Sacrament at church, I was reminded of a special experience I had a while back. This experience deepened my love for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and I hope it will do the same for the rest of you, even if you’re not a mother.

It was one of those moments in life; it was so minuscule, and especially so if compared to the vast eternities. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit it was a moment that could never be recalled. I was a new mother desperate for some quiet time in my life. I desired nothing more than a period of 5 minutes where I could just be close to God. This Sunday, during the Sacrament, I wanted my participation in the Lord’s Supper to find meaning again. For months, if not years, it had just seemed to be a jumble of trying to quiet my three small daughters. I needed to feel closer to my Savior, so that I could somehow find the strength to overcome my own weaknesses, particularly my impatience with my young children.

So, I sat with my children and tried my hardest to focus on Jesus Christ and all that He means to me. During the Sacrament prayer, I listened intently and as the words were uttered, “that they always do remember Him, that they may have His Spirit to be with them”, I was somehow filled with the Spirit. On that day, I succeeded at finding God’s realm. Reflecting back, I realize that nothing feels better than feeling the Spirit of the Lord. Nothing. In God’s realm, everything is peaceful, everything is right, and everything is love.

I prayed a fervent prayer that I would always remember Him, and that I could even do so during the week to come, especially when I was the least patient. I thought of my daily challenges and how sometimes it seemed as if a spilled glass of milk could just make me want to run away from home. Oh yes, my challenges were constant; there was the absence of my law student husband, the money that was always stretched to the limit, the never-ending needs of the children, the piles upon piles of laundry, and the mess made by a child and cleaned by their mom, only to be followed by another one which always seemed more extensive. How could I always remember Him?

With the presence of the Spirit, the physical messes somehow turned into the spiritual messes. In this minuscule moment, I felt that Christ was mending my spiritually broken heart. He was fixing the messes that I had in my heart. The Spirit whispered that it wasn’t about my children and their messes, it was about me and my mess. I wasn’t taking the time to realize who these children really were: they were God’s daughters and I was the mother privileged enough to clean up after them for a time. The wisdom was imparted: when I learned to be a mother with a cheerful heart, I would find the patience and the quiet that I desperately needed in my life. If I would mother with God’s wisdom I could be blessed with the Spirit always.

I prayed. What was God’s wisdom that I needed? I sat and I listened to the still small voice. The little noises from around me started gaining a volume in my ears. But instead of being annoyed by the noise I was being blessed with some reminders. Each child’s cry echoing from chapel was suddenly not annoying at all. Jesus Christ became even more sacred to me and loved by me as I remembered that he loved each of these children. God’s wisdom was that He loved them just as He loved me.

And then when the moment was almost over, I was blessed with a very special last reminder. I heard something that I had never noticed before. It was the sound of sacrament cups being dropped into the trays. Every plunk seemed to get louder and louder, and every other noise from the room became more and more faint. I closed my eyes to listen more intently. Those plunks seemed to be so frequent. It was as if I could hear them resonating from around the world, and throughout time. I could not contain the emotion, the tears began to flow. Jesus Christ suffered the infinite atonement for all of these people. And, I was just one of the fortunate. He died for me so that I could be forgiven as I participated in the sacrament for my impatience and whatever else I wanted to change in my life. I was a mother who wanted to be better. And, Jesus Christ would bless me with my pure desire. Jesus Christ loved us all, children and adults, and somehow that fact would give me the patience I needed.

Obsolete Skills

My mother-in-law, Faye, and her friend, Jean, stopped by the house on Tuesday. I got my digital camera out to capture Jean’s adorable grandson Whit. I was just shooting away when Jean asked me if I was using a digital camera. I assured her that I was, and because I was, I could snap away as generously as I desired.

Faye then started to tell us about her recent visit to her niece Becky’s house. She had taken her old 35 mm camera and Becky’s children were very disappointed that they couldn’t see themselves in the camera immediately.
I got to thinking that we had that instantaneous luxury when I was a child, it was called Polaroid, and the 3 minutes we had to wait for picture development really did seem immediate back then.
So, on the radio this morning, they were talking about obsoleteskills. And then it occurred to me that even though we have upgraded to digital photography, we really aren’t as advanced as we should be.
Here are some obsolete skills that still have their place at the Gold household:
1- Adjusting rabbit ears on top of a TV.
2- Operating an old-school 70’s air popcorn popper.
3- Letter writing.
4- Rewinding.
5- Programming a VCR to record your favorite show.
6- Blowing the dust out of GameBoy cartridges.
7- Caulking the shower.
8- Grinding wheat.
9- Handwriting and spelling.
10- Using the Dewey Decimal to search for library books.
11- Making your own ice-cream.
12- Baking homemade bread.
13- Ripping the little holes off the sides of computer paper. (my motherinlaw gave the girls a huge box of the stuff to color on)
14- Using WiteOut.
15- Using fountain pens.
16- Mending and hemming your own clothes.
17 – Playing an instrument
18 – Getting off the couch to change channels on the TV (our remotes aren’t the most reliable)
19 – Getting to know your neighbors.
Wow! I guess we aren’t doing too bad when it comes to the counsel from our pioneer ancestors: “Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”
Here are some obsolete skills that we are glad we don’t need:
1- Changing your own oil
2 – Repairing your own small appliances.
3 – Darning socks.
4 – Loading film in a 35 mm camera.
5- Looking for a job in the classifieds.
6- Making an operator assisted phone call.
7- Remembering passwords (this is a sore subject at our house ~ LG will not write his passwords down)
8- Using a punch card (oh yeah, we don’t have to work for the man!)
And here are some that LG or I will gladly hold on to:

1 – Mastering the use of a joystick.
2 – Building your own computer using individual components.
3- Mowing your own lawn.
4- Growing your own vegetables.
5- Cheating at video games using a loader or binary patch.
6- Driving a manual transmission. (everyone needs to learn how to do this)
7- Knowing what part of town a person lives in by their phone exchange. (this is useful)
8- Lighting a kerosene lamp. (when camping of course)
9- Paying with cash (because this would mean that we actually have some)
10- Talking face to face (This one is not so much something LG may want to keep)
11- Tying a tie (oh how dignified)

WHAT are some skills that you are attached to, glad not to have, or need to hang on to?

Gender Roles
The gender roles: thank goodness they don’t have to be black and white.
When we were newlyweds, (10.5 years ago!!) LG and I took a sociology for the family class together. Of course, LG humored me by taking the sociology class. Soft sciences aren’t really his thing. (He had no idea at the time, that he married a girl whom would take him on a complex psychological journey) I forgot how fun that was to study together. We also took a health class together. (I had no idea at the time that we should have paid better attention to our health instruction)
Anyhow, I remember learning about gender roles in this sociology class and how their definitions are getting more and more intertwined. I was somewhat happy at the time feeling like it would be o.k. that I married a man who was more nurturing than me.
I also felt extremely validated because I had married a man who appreciated me for the strong willed girl that I am. I sometimes kid when I am trying to explain my differences from other women that I am a “manly girl”. (not in a gay way) I just enjoy doing things on my own and not being that damsel in distress.
Last night as LG and I were discussing our friends’ baby, LG said how impressed he was with our friend Dave’s ability to be nurturing. I said to him, “I love it, you are the exact same way.” and then I added, “I am not so nurturing, huh?” LG said, “You are with the babies.” (I will take that in a complimentary sort of way and add the realization that I can do a better job with my big grown babies – including LG)
Even though LG and I are still constantly trying to work out our gender roles, I am still a firm believer that the women were meant to be the nurturers and the men the protectors. (What else explains the fact that he can’t handle throw up and I couldn’t “kill off” that injured bird outside) I love it when I find scientific things that support the teachings of the church.

Are ya’ a Yankee?

My parents always taught us to try and understand and love all people. This makes it a little easier to fit in where ever I go. I believe that my California born and raised parents did an amazing job of preparing me to survive in the South.

I got a good sense of their amazing child rearing skills this Sunday. I have had almost no prouder moment than when Phyllis, my lovely favorite lady, who is black, was introduced to my brother before Sacrament Meeting. She said, “Oh, boy, I just love your sister, she is like my twin!” I didn’t think that was possible! All three of us got a good chuckle thinking of the literal fact instead of the intended meaning.

My brother who was visiting from Utah chose to sit down next to Phyllis, who is black. I later chuckled to myself as I heard David lean over to Phyllis during the Sunday School lesson and exclaim, “Ain’t that the truth?” Phyllis then replied with, “Amen Brother”.

Just read these you oughta know facts if you plan to move to the South and thought I would share:

The North has coffee houses, The South has Waffle Houses.
The North has dating services, The South has family reunions.
The North has switchblade knives, The South has Lee Press-on Nails.
The North has double last names, The South has double first names.
The North has Ted Kennedy, The South has Jesse Helms.
The North has Indy car races, The South has stock car races.
The North has Cream of Wheat, The South has grits.
The North has green salads, The South has collard greens.
The North has lobsters, The South has crawdads.
The North has the rust belt, The South has the Bible Belt.

Remember, “y’all” is singular, “all y’all” is plural, and “all y’all’s is plural possessive.

Get used to hearing “You ain’t from round here, are ya?”

If you hear a Southerner exclaim, “Hey, y’all, watch this,” you should stay out of the way. These are likely to be the last words he’ll ever say.

If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the smallest accumulation of snow, your presence is required at the local grocery store. It doesn’t matter whether you need anything or not. You just have to go there.

If you do settle in the South and bear children, don’t think they will be accepted as Southerners.
After all, if the cat had kittens in the oven, we wouldn’t call ‘em biscuits.

And you may as well reckon that your life will turn into a country music song ‘fore you know it.