So Good

Tonight I had the opportunity to go out to an appointment with the Sister Missionaries.  They are so awesome!  It's been so long since I went out with any missionaries, and I forgot how good it feels.  Tonight we taught this awesome guy.  He totally understands the Gospel, and he doesn't think he does.  I actually learned something from him tonight, because of his amazing faith.  To everything we taught him he said "It makes so much sense!".  He also really knows how to study the scriptures.  He found 1 Nephi 1:20 in his first reading and told us how amazing it is!  I didn't even really notice that verse until Elder Bednar's talk in April 2005 General Conference.  This investigator totally gets it just from reading the scriptures!  I had to have Elder Bednar speak to me through this talk in order to even notice this verse.  It got me thinking about when I first heard it.

I remember this talk in particular because it really struck me at that time in my life.  I remember exactly where I was and when it was that I heard it.  I was at my mom's office while she did some work (I didn't have my license at this point) and we couldn't get back to the chapel in time for the second Sunday session.  So I locked myself in an empty office, booted up the computer and started listening to the conference.  I remember lying on the floor, almost asleep, when this talk came on.  Suddenly I was wide awake and every word he spoke just stuck in my mind.  It was amazing.  Though I didn't remember anything specific about the talk, since then, the phrase "the tender mercies of the Lord" has stuck in my mind and I think about it often. 

In re-reading this talk tonight, this particular part stood out to me, because I have seen it in my own life:

"As I indicated earlier, the Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness, obedience, and humility invite tender mercies into our lives, and it is often the Lord’s timing that enables us to recognize and treasure these important blessings...I repeat again, the Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness and obedience enable us to receive these important gifts and, frequently, the Lord’s timing helps us to recognize them."

Since hearing this talk, I have recognized the Lord's tender mercies in my life.  Whether it was as huge as having the Spirit directly tell me, in words, what to do, or having a hymn or scripture come to mind when pondering on a specific thing I was having trouble with, the mercies do come.  I have cherished them.  I love them.  They help bring me closer to my Heavenly Father because they show that He loves me and I know He wants me to know it.

I want to thank that investigator for giving me the opportunity to re-live my discovery of this verse.  I want to thank him for being so in-tune with the Spirit that we had an amazing discussion tonight.  I really hope that he knows how special he is.

Until next time,
-J

I Am Nerd

Alright, recently I have managed to show my nerdiness in so many different ways.  It's just dawned on me how much of a nerd I am when it comes to things I like.  On Sunday I had a conversation about Final Fantasy with a friend and later, with said friend, managed to reference Nirvana, Moulin Rouge, and Gladiator all in the same sentence.  Then, last night at the Sens game, they played music that I correctly identified as being from Star Wars...but not only did I recognize it as Star Wars, I recognized it more specifically from The Phantom Menace.  Yes, it gets better.  I also identified that the trumpet player who was doing all the "da dun da dun da da...CHARGE!!!" music was playing on a C trumpet, not a Bb.  I'm that cool.  Video games, movies, music...oh and books too!  Pretty much sums up my nerdiness. 

Offensive Acts of War

I don't normally write about world issues, but recently I've been listening to World Report on CBC radio 1 and I've heard a lot of interesting (to say the least) stories in the last little while.  One that I heard this morning made me so offended that I feel a seething rage every time that I think about it.

The story is, four US Marines took a video of themselves urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.  Not only did they do this terrible act, they made jokes about it like "Have a great day Buddy!" and "He likes his shower".  Ugh!  It is a terrible, terrible atrocity.  I can't believe that someone would feel good about doing something like that.  Enemy or not, people are people and you don't defile the dead.  That's the ultimate taboo, in my opinion.  Urinating on someone's corpse out of sport, making a video of it and posting it proudly on the internet is disgraceful. Sometimes, when I hear stories like this, I don't feel like living on this planet any more.  Sometimes, humans make me sick.

Books I Read in 2011

People who know me know that I am an avid reader.  I go through periods of withdrawl where I have to read everything I can get my hands on...and then I'm good for a few months.  I sort of got into the habit when I started university, when there's no time for pleasure reading during school so I can only read over the holidays or summer break.  That being said, I read a number of books for the first time in 2011 and here are just some of the titles:

Holes--Louis Sachar

Artemis Fowl--Eoin Colfer

Pride and Prejudice--Jane Austen

The Golden Compass--Philip Pullman

The Count of Monte Cristo--Alexandre Dumas

The Diary of a Young Girl--Anne Frank

The Five People You Meet in Heaven--Mitch Albom

The Book Thief--Markus Zusak

Jane Eyre--Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights--Emily Bronte

Inheritance--Christopher Paolini

The Five Love Languages--Gary Chapman

And I'm sure there were a few Madeline Wickham books thrown in there somewhere too.  Hey, every girl needs their chick-book fix sometimes.  :P  I also started two other books but didn't finish them before the year was over (Oliver Twist and Still Alice).  I used to be a bit of a book snob and definitely judged books by their cover (and what section of the store they were in...I religiously avoided the self-help section until this project).

I'd have to say my favourite of that list were The Count of Monte Cristo (1500 pages in 8 days!), and Jane Eyre.  Inheritance was also good (800 pages in 2 days) but I didn't like the ending.  I normally don't read this many books a year (The last book I read was in the beginning of November; the majority of these were read between May and September) but back in April I made a list of books I'd like to read.  Mostly it is made up of classic novels that I have never read, but should have.  I've been pleasently suprised thus far and I must say that Jane Eyre is my new favourite book.  I added to it from suggestions of my friends and I hope to continue checking books off. 

Feel free to add any suggestions!!  Also, if you ever feel the need to buy me something, might as well make it a book...or two! :P

Until next time,
-J

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to one and all!  New years is always a time of new beginnings and resolutions.  I found a blog post that was really helpful when making resolutions.  The ones I agree with are as follows:

1. Make your goal specific--"get in shape" is very vague
2. Make it realistic--something you can actually accomplish
3. Make each goal step by step--make a plan of how you're going to do it
4. Failing isn't failing--a slip-up is just a chance to get back on track
5.Keep accountable--when someone else knows about your goal, you're more likely to keep it!

She also suggested not making a goal for the entire year, but I think some long-term goals are good and quite attainable.

So, in keeping with her advice, I will now be accountable to all my readers about my resolutions.  I'd like to share some of the ones I'm making:

Church-Related

1. Spend at least half an hour a day studying my scriptures (not just reading)
2. Say both my morning and evening prayers every day (the morning ones are always forgotten!)
3. Visit the temple at least once a month (Jocelyn is my temple buddy so she'd better keep me on track!)





Other

4. Go on at least one date a month (There's your open invitation :P)
5. Grow out my hair (Some will be more happy than others at this announcement)
6. Save enough money for school (I might have to travel to find a higher-paying job during the summer)


Well folks, those are the ones I am willing to share with you.  The others are more personal and I'll keep them to myself and my journal :P.  I'd love to hear your resolutions as well so feel free to send them my way!  Happy new year and I wish the best for you all in 2012!

Until next time,
-J

Remembering Dec 26, 2004 Tsunami

Monday night, we chanced upon a program called The Passionate Eye.  It was airing an episode entitled Tsunami Caught on Camera, a compilation of videos of survivors of the 2004 Tsunami that began as a result of a 9.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia.  The Tsunami hit 14 countries and had a death toll of approximately 230000 people-a great deal more than the approx 20000 deaths from the Tsunami in Japan this past April. 

The footage and testimonials from the survivors is bone-chilling, terrifying, and devastating.  I cried almost the whole program, just watching the people get swept away by the water and knowing that they most likely died.  It makes me so grateful to live where I do, far away from any coast or large earthquake activity.  Here are just a few pictures of the devastation:

A stirring reminder that we are subject to powers greater than ourselves.


Until next time,
-J

Idols

I don't know whether it's because my students and I were discussing Moses and the Israelites the last little bit, or it's just something that has stuck with me, but the topic of idols has been in my head.  The dictionary defines an idol as:

1.an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed.

2.Bible .a. an image of a deity other than God.

b. the deity itself.

3.any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion: Madame Curie had been her childhood idol.

4.a mere image or semblance of something, visible but without substance, as a phantom.

5.a figment of the mind; fantasy. 

Upon the word idol being stuck in my head, I thought of all the ways we use it.  Teen idol, pop idol, American idol, Oktoberfest idol, immunity idol (Survivor), the list goes on!

The encouragement of these things or people being idols comes from, essentially, the mass media.  Magazines like People, OK!, Star, HELLO!, In Touch, Star, US Weekly, and Vanity Fair, all share intimate details of celebrities lives, and people actually buy these magazines and read them.  


People (myself unfortunately included) religiously watch tv shows that have no real substance and, more often than not, portray things like pre-marital sex, drug and alcohol abuse, and violence as normal and accepted.  When our 'idols' do something in a magazine or on tv, we may be persuaded that what they do is ok for us too.

So think about what idols you follow and whether they are worthy of your attention or if you should leave them behind and do as Moses pleads in Deuteronomy 4:15-16 "Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves...Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female".

Until next time,

-J