Unwinding

This week has been a tough one. Luckily it has gone by really fast! My parents decided they needed to go to Hawaii for some unknown reason and asked me to stay with my 16 yr old brother Collin to keep him company and make sure he feeds himself. My mom offered me gas money and access to her food so I can't really say that's a bad deal, but an extra 30- 40 minute commute in the morning reminded me why I moved to Sandy.

I've taken on a lot lately and I'm still adjusting to some changes.... but maybe this week's exhaustion was really only because I'm not even near the realm of "morning person". Who knows.... but like I said, tough.

I came home (to my parents') today knowing I had the night off. BUT step one, clean the kitchen. Done. Quite thoroughly I might add. Step two, got check the garden, which I have neglected all week. Needless to say there was a GIANT zucchini and about a billion tomatoes (Ooops). Step three... food. So I sat for a minute staring at a billion tomatoes. TOMATO SOUP!

So... here I am an hour and 1/2 since I walked in the door. The kitchen is clean. There is a delicious smelling MADE FROM SCRATCH soup simmering on the stove. I ran to Harmon's for some delicious looking bread that is about to be turned into a nice melty grilled cheese sandwich (I gotta say... grilled cheese is somewhat of a specialty) and I feel REALLY good about myself.

Yes, I'm still exhausted. Yes, I plan on eating then turning on the most boring looking movie I could find at Redbox (The Conspirator) and promptly falling into a semi-comatose state. YES, I'm totally impressed with myself. (Yes, I'm awesome). Yes, you can tell I'm tired. BIGGEST YES OF ALL... I have achieved enough in the last hour to unwind and feel marginally better about my more than marginally crappy week.

Like I said, I'm awesome :)

Never Forget

9/11 destruction allowed us to spiritually rebuild

By Thomas S. Monson

Badge from fire helmet discovered in the debris post 9/11/01. (Ira Block)The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow. Ten years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of lost lives and broken hearts. It is an episode of anguish that has become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the world. This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001.

There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful. When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our minds and hearts as well.

Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers. Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has promised us that this will never change.

But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail, and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very much to our detriment.

If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.

The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed.

It is constancy that God would have from us. Tragedies are not merely opportunities to give Him a fleeting thought, or for momentary insight to His plan for our happiness. Destruction allows us to rebuild our lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus Christ, the pattern for our behavior. We may not only find faith in God in our sorrow. We may also become faithful to Him in times of calm.

Thomas S. Monson is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This article was copied from the Washington Post. There are articles there written by leaders of many faiths that are amazing as well. Go read them and remember. As you remember the sadness and tragedy, remember the hope and love that surrounded that time. Remember the heroes. Remember the sense of unity. Most importantly, remember YOUR faith. Remember to have hope and courage. 

I know that I forget those things... constantly. I look back on 9/11 and I want to be better.

What better time is there to remember and try again? 

<3

Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?

I had a conversation about this with a co-worker this week and now here I am, Saturday Morning of a long weekend, sleepy-eyed with a bowl of cereal and the only thing I need is some Saturday Morning Cartoons.

WHAT HAPPENED TO SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS?!

I'm talking Animaniacs, Pinky and The Brain, X-Men, TMNT. If I turned on the TV right now I'd get some 10th generation power rangers ninja force garbage. Good thing I don't have a TV. But really... what happened to a good Saturday Morning line-up? What do Mom's do with their kids for 3 hours instead of letting them slowly wake up to Yako, Wako, and Dot singing the countries of the world, or Pinky and the Brain failing yet again at taking over the world. And the poor children!

I'm lucky enough to have Pinky and the Brain on DVD and access to old school cartoons and Netflix, but what do kids even watch these days?

This may be another one of those times you're thinking I'm a complete dork, but just in case you've forgotten how it feels to watch cartoons 1/2 asleep on Saturday Morning....



See, you just got excited didn't you.