Reflections of Christ

I just got an email with this video. It is amazing!! Watch when you have speakers/headphones to your computer ON, and about 7 minutes to spare. If you'd like to see it full-screen, you can go to this link instead: http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html



"For many years the Mesa Arizona Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a pageant on the temple grounds during the Easter season. This year, there was also a 'Reflections of Christ' photography exhibit in which the photographer was given permission to photograph Pageant cast members for the exhibit. They traveled to various locations in Arizona that the photographer felt looked like the places in Israel where the events took place and recreated the scenes. The photographer worked with a few other individuals to put together a 5 minute slideshow which includes every image from the exhibit set to the hymn 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.' Just remember when you're watching the video that the photographs are real, they aren't paintings."

Soap Box Sunday

Ok, I posted this on Sunday night and totally screwed up my blog formatting--it was scary!!! Anyway, here it is again:

Today it was my turn to teach gospel doctrine. (I teach every third Sunday, and it is the BEST calling EVER!!) Something I learned struck me in a new way, so...here goes:

Samuel the Lamanite prophesied many things unto the Nephites, including that if they did not repent, destruction should surely come to them. When this would happen, he also prophesied the following:

Helaman 13:18

And it shall come to pass, saith the Lord of Hosts, yea, our great and true God, that whoso shall hide up treasures in the earth shall find them again no more, because of the great curse of the land, save he be a righteous man and shall hide it up unto the Lord.

Hugh Nibley said something pretty interesting about this:

“What is con-secrated is then made sacred, withdrawn from the ordinary economy, dedicated to a particular purpose and to that purpose only. It can never be recalled or used for any other purpose without being de-secrated. A striking passage in Helaman brings this out while providing a powerful bit of evidence for the bona fides of the Book of Mormon. Samuel the Lamanite tells the people that their riches will be cursed because they have set their hearts upon them; and that when they flee before their enemies and bury their treasures, if they bury them not unto the Lord, they will become slippery and can never be found again. In the Copper Scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls we learn that when the Jews fled from Jerusalem before their enemies, they also buried their treasures; and they also buried them up unto the Lord so that they could never again be used in profane negotiations. All such buried treasures had to be used for the temple and nothing else. It would be hard to find a more convincing parallel. It is a reminder that when I consecrate, it cannot be with limitations or qualifications.” (Approaching Zion, p. 389)

This scripture and the following quote made me think about all of the things we "consecrate" to the Lord, and how we treat those things. If we do not treat them wisely, we are in essence "desecrating" them.

To be clear, to consecrate something means to "make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of God." Desecrate means to "treat with sacrilege; profane; dishonor."

For example, if we do not "consecrate" or keep sacred our temple covenants, casting them as pearls before swine, we are in fact "desecrating" them.

It can also be understood this way: If we do not consecrate our talents unto the Lord, they will "become slippery" and we will not be able to use them. (ie: not accepting a calling, or not using our talents to the benefit of His church) But, if we do, our talents will become that much richer through the power of the Holy Ghost.

It is the same with a testimony. If we do not consecrate our testimonies unto the Lord, we are telling the Lord that it is not important to us, and he can take it away--which he will, because in his great mercy, he protects those who do not continue on the path of righteousness by taking away that which they knew to be true so that we are not held accountable for that which we used to know. As we use our testimonies, dedicating them to the service of the Lord, that means that we will share them with others for the benefit of all of God's children. As we do this, our testimonies grow within us, and will be added upon. When we do not share our testimonies with others, we really do hinder our ability to do so, and our recollection of what is really important to us.

I know that the key to Eternal Life is doing those small and simple things that the Lord has asked of us. Line upon line, as we consecrate our God-given talents, testimonies, covenants unto the Lord for service in His kingdom, we will be blessed, added upon, and have the wisdom, humility, and hope to endure to the end.

OK...Jordan's Quirks!!

Ok...these aren't all "quirks" but who cares... and there are more than 6 :)

1. Jordan frequently talks in his sleep. And, unlike me (and Michelle--since we were roomies, I'd hear you too!) who just kinda mumbles, you can actually TALK to him, and he'll respond! The funniest one was when he "woke up" and turned to me saying that he just "talked to 'Survivor Man' and if we separate out his kit, we can all have survival kits too." Then I said, "That's nice honey." Just before I was going to roll over, he gave me this look as if to say "Fine. Be that way. You never care about my survival ideas." hahahaaha....

2. Jordan loves taking things apart and fixing things. When he was little he used to take apart the VCR. This was before he knew how to put it back together though...hehe....I'm glad he knows now, and feel sorry for his parents, but thankful, since almost ANYTHING that breaks in the house can be fixed by my handyman! (he has fixed my blow drier 4 or 5 times)

3. When Jordan eats M&Ms or Skittles, he has to separate them by color, put them each into little rows, and then narrow down the longest rows so that they are all even. Then, he has to eat them all in an nondiscriminatory fashion (eating one off of each row at a time) until they are all gone.

4. Jordan is better with babies than most men who actually have children. Every time I get on the phone with Gavin, the first thing that comes out of his mouth is "Where's 'Mon?' (Jordan's nickname--for "Monster"). And every time we visit little Ava, she clings to Jordan the whole night. And any time we babysit anyone's baby (Ava, or Heather's cute little Lauren), Jordan is the one who knows what she wants, how to put her to bed, how long to burp her, etc. etc.

5. When Jordan was little (like 6 or something) his mom tells me that he HATED if anyone coddled him or sympathized when he skinned his knee or got hurt in any way. Basically, what you had to do was say 'ah, looks like you got hurt.' Then he'd respond with a nonchalant 'yeah.' And leave it at that--maybe offer to help wipe the blood off!! That little streak of independence still lives on, but Jordan now likes it when I give him lots of sympathy and attention, like when he's sick, and usually in the form of a back rub or foot massage.

6. Jordan LOVES watching "really entertaining" (OK, so I'm being sarcastic) Sci-Fi shows, like "Stargate Atlantis." I think they're so hokey and cheesy (and actually so does he) but he LOVES them. He keeps those guys in business.

7. Jordan's favorite bargaining tool is the infamous "massage." Like, "honey, we can discuss baby names...if you give me a massage while we do it," or "honey, I'll watch 'the Olympics' with you...if you give me a massage..." (ok, guess another quirk would be that he DOES NOT watch sports--EVEN the Olympics!!) Anyway, the massage bargaining is an ongoing thing. Depending on how much I want the thing I'm asking him to do for/with me, I will give in.

8. When he is bored (like at the DMV or somewhere you can't do ANYTHING to entertain yourself as you wait in line), Jordan starts counting things in the room (ie: ceiling tiles).

9. When waking him up, you have to make sure you don't nudge him or even lightly touch him. He'll jerk like someone who just got electrocuted! Apparently others in his family are the same way. So, when I wake him, I make sure to just softly say his name (from a distance) a few times and he'll wake up just fine. (I just discovered this one--after years of scaring the crap out of him!)

10. Jordan is the MASTER at getting good deals. He always has some kind of coupon, plus a way to get an extra 20% off, additional rebate, etc. etc. Especially with anything electronic. It amazes me. Now if only he could get me free CLOTHES or JEWELRY all the time :) Honey, will you work on that?

What Heaven Sees In You

And I also wanted to add this clip--I love this song.

Soap Box Sunday

I really want to do a "soap box" on Sundays...just write down things I learned at church and share my testimony (at least with myself!) Today, we learned about the fact that the small and simple things really do make the difference in our lives.

The speaker in church was talking about the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, and as usual with C.S. Lewis, I see a new way to think about a gospel principle. In the book, evil spirits, or "Satan's demons" were discussing how to bring down a human being. In one letter, the more experienced demon tells the other (in so many words--totally paraphrasing!) that the notion that all they do is put evil thoughts into the heads of those they are tempting is ridiculous, because it is so much easier to simply put ordinary, "distracting" thoughts into the heads of the mortals...thus, keeping people occupied in their very temporal daily lives rather than thinking of the "big picture." This way is much more subtle, yet can lead to the same spiritual weakening.

I see this a lot in my own life--I get so distracted by the daily stresses and pressures of home, bills, work, busy schedules etc. and need to remember to take some time to ponder the things that are most important. Keep a prayer in my heart. Read my scriptures and say my prayers daily. The small and simple things are those that the adversary really does not want us to do, because if we are not strengthening our testimonies, we are weakening them by starving them of the spiritual nourishment they need. I need to keep doing those simple things that remind me of my divine nature and what is really important in life, in order to combat the distractions that swirl around me every day. As we continue to keep ourselves focused on Christ and His plan, the presence of the Holy Ghost will be so much stronger in our lives, therefore making us each more intelligent, more protected from the distractions and temptations of the adversary, and more easily entreated to continue on the strait and narrow path.

Visiting with the Old Roomies!

So, my dear former roommate, Amanda Dabney, now "Amanda Nay" has just had a beautiful baby bay--she named him Henry! Love that name! Anyway, our other roommate, Heather Morgan and I went to visit. Henry is just a week old and super cute!

Here's Heather with Henry!

And here am I with Henry...hmmm that sounds weird...maybe "Here I am with Henry?"

And here we are, all three!!

Henry looks SOOOO much like Amanda!! He has the same profile--it's crazy!! It made me excited to think that my baby will look like Jordan and me from the beginning--I always think that babies kinda all look the same, so Henry gave me hope that our baby may look LIKE US!

We had such fun times as roommates. Heather and Amanda, although they didn't know each other before, had just returned from missions in Korea (different missions though) and I had just returned from my mission in Chile! (Heather and I were room roommates, and I used to call her "Hermana" all the time, or instead of "roommate," "companion" haha) Heather loves Kenny G's Christmas music, and I loved listening to it with her in...July...yes, we're weird!!! She was also the "spiritual giant" in the apartment--if only more people were like Heather...the world would be...well...taken up, like the City of Enoch, I guess!

Amanda is so funny--she always had different jobs--one at a bakery, where she had to wake up SUPER early and really hated it...she didn't stay at her jobs long :) She also loved to change majors--but now, she's doing her MBA!! What a smartie! Heather is also getting a graduate degree--an MPA!! I was like "I totally don't want to go back to school" but they said it's a lot more fun than getting your bachelors' so maybe one day I'll take them up on it!

Amanda also made her FAMOUS chocolate chip cookies!! (she was ALWAYS cooking, and GOOD cooking!) Her cookies are the BEST. She used to make them seriously 3 times a week when we were roommates, and I told her that when I graduated and moved out I would lose like 10 lbs. :) That didn't happen, becuase of course, my bad eating habits just continued on to other things, but hey...I think I tried to be good for at least a week!

Next gathering--Bridal Shower for Heather!!! Right?? Heather, he's out there WAITING for you...at FHE...or something... :) Get your flirt on.

Uh Oh, It's Happening!!

Yes. I always have my camera on me to capture these important moments :) And yes, I realize I totally look HUGE in this picture, but oh well, I'm pregnant...

My coworker, Dana, told me that when she was pregnant, she would always brush up against things with her tummy, making a constant dirt mark, food stain, etc. on her belly! I figured I wasn't big enough yet for this to happen, but I guess I am!!

I brushed up against printer toner, and...yes, I also, if you look closely, (click on the picture and you'll see it) you can see to the left of it part of the peach I ate earlier today--hope I can get these stains out. Good thing for OxyClean Spray!! (that's the BEST pre-spot I've used btw!)

Oh, and the line underneath the spot...yeah, my garments are belly shirts now...I have to get some tall kinds, because I hear you have to be REALLY BIG to appreciate the maternity variety, and I don't think I'm big enough. Yeah, I purposefully had to wear this shirt that has the rouching up the sides today because then you can't tell so much that I have a belly shirt underneath. Ha!

Salt Lake Symphonic Choir

So..... I auditioned for a new choir. Some friends from Utah Master Chorale told me about it (thanks!) and now I get to sing with Ariel, Juliann, Kathryn, and John again! Yay! They totally need men, so I pretty much told John that he HAD to audition so that I could be assured a spot :) It worked!

So far so good. Last week's practice was great! They are really organized, and though I'm one of the "young ones" it isn't toooo MOTAB :) We are singing the Hallelujah Chorus, Baby What You Goin' to Be? (Mom's excited about that!), and some others I can't remember. All I know is the best part of singing in a choir in the fall is that you get to sing Christmas Carols WAAAAYYY before Christmas! It's awesome!!

The choir sounds REALLY good. I'm totally impressed. Especially the men's section--very full and rich sounding. That's quite a change from UMC--we just didn't have as many men! So, I think this choir will be awesome! I'll let you all know about our concert schedule!!

Another Tag

• Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
• Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them.
• Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

________________________________________________________

My Quirks:

1. I have a problem with "TMI." At least that's what they tell me...

2. I am obsessed with politics, at least right now while the campaigns are going on. But I actually would rather have the Second Coming in November than a presidential election, considering the selection we have...

3. For some reason, my brain does not even begin to understand math or science. That's why I married Jordan. The kids can go to him for help.

4. I can't stand not having nail polish on my toes. Can't.

5. I really have never been able to understand the "Dave Matthews" obsession when I was in college. I mean, he's OK and everything, but come on...

6. I really couldn't care less about animals. Well, pets, to be more exact. I do care about the dolphins I guess. But I'm hoping I won't give into my kids when they want a dog. At least I have the "I'm allergic to cats and dogs" excuse...because I really am.

7. OK I'm a big dork because I always sing songs about Jordan--not "cool songs" but I change the words to primary songs and sing them about Jordan. For example, "Honey I love you, honey I do, Father in Heaven has sent me to you..." instead of "Mother I love you..." Another one we love to sing to each other (so Jordan has joined in a bit :) is "Honey do you love me? Honey do you care for me?" instead of the "Teacher do you love me?" primary song, haha...

8. I can't do animal sounds. The best is my cow "moo" and that's about it. Jordan LOVES to tease me about this and says I'm not allowed to teach our kids the animal sounds--he will!

Ok so that was more than 6 quirks AND I tagged more than 6 people too. Sue me. :)

Ok, I tag:
Ariel Smith - Juliann Peacock - Kathryn Ariotti - Becca Walker - Michelle Kesler - Ashley Gollaher - Mainha & Painho - Marci Morgan

Stopping the stupid credit card offers...

I don't know about you, but I get preapproved credit card offers ALL THE TIME. Not only is it really annyoing, but it also actually hurts your credit--those credit card companies screen your credit each time they send one out. SO, I just found out how to avoid it all and get off their "mailing list!!' (the credit bureaus have you on a list that they give to credit card companies and insurance companies that allows them to prescreen).

www.optoutprescreen.com

Best kept secret. Register to opt out here and you'll have less junk mail. It will also raise your credit score between 5-10 points in the first month--that's a plus!

Anyway, just thought I'd share!

Another Personality Thing...

I guess I just can't resist these dumb things!! But, it was on Julianne's blog, and she has good taste :)

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Not sure if it's totally me--it was hard!! There were some questions where I really wasn't sure, or I would be sort-of one and sort-of the other! Oh well...I have always liked Sleeping Beauty though :)

Jessica Taylor's 17th Birthday!

And of course, all the pictures are of little Ava...but soon they'll be of my baby, hahaha (evil laugh). Mine will STILL be the FIRST grandchild of Dan and Lenore, so I have that to claim! Anyway, Ava's so cute, it's hard not to take pictures!!

Ava and her sister, Lexi

Ava with Jenn, who hates being in pictures (she wants to get her braces off first...)

Ava and me

And finally, the reason for the whole event: Jessica :) Happy 17th!

We had Dan's yummy sweet and sour crock pot chicken and rice with cream cheese wontons, and donuts as the birthday cake :) Jessica hates donuts, but she and her aunt has a running joke about donuts, so she got those from her aunt. The whole birthday was pirate-themed, thanks to Katie!! She's so creative!

Awwww....

Just wanted to remember this...