Infinite Power of Hope

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a series of videos on YouTube called 'Mormon Messages,' some of which are taken from talks given at General Conference.  I'm posting a link to the latest one as it expands beautifully on my last post on hope.

The blurb on YouTube:

"Dieter F. Uchtdorf, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, shares how hope encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ."

 (Okay, so I worked out how to embed a video, but now... I've looked but can't find how to change the template so the video doesn't overlap the side bar widgets.  This is the smallest size video link I could get on YouTube.  Any ideas?)

A Perfect Brightness of Hope

In Sacrament Meeting yesterday, my bishop spoke about hope and the way in which many of us feel or express hope in Christ, as being without real hope.  A hopeless hope.  Not a faithful hope which trusts that all the trials we may face are ultimately for our benefit (see Doctrine & Covenants 122:7).  Too often our hope is similar to a wish for something we're not certain we'll receive, such as when we say, "I hope we'll have good weather tomorrow."  There's nothing you can do about the outcome of such a wish and so we fall short of true hope.  Our hope is vain (see Moroni 7:40-44) when it should be strong - we are counselled to "ask in faith, nothing wavering" (see James 1:5-6).

So how do we learn to hope with a trusting heart?  For me, I'm learning that there are two ways - and that they go hand-in-hand.  First and foremost is to do your best to keep the commandments of God and follow the example of Jesus Christ.  Which leads naturally to the second: to serve others.  These two actions were nicely summed up on a bumper sticker I saw the other day: "Love God, Love Others."

When we begin to look at the world around us and do what we can to make it a better place and ourselves more caring people, when we have faith that Jesus Christ will make up the difference between His perfection and our shortcomings - and we all have them - that is when we will begin to understand what it means to have "a perfect brightness of hope" (see 2 Nephi 31:20).

So This Is Christmas

Fourteen years in the USA and I'm still not used to cold at this time of year.  So if I'm going to feel misplaced, I might as well spend a few days with friends in their north Georgia cabin.  And anyhow, it's always interesting to sit around a bonfire and witness a true pyromaniac at work.

Earlier in the evening Pyro's wife was trying to get their two year old girl to have "two more bites" of dinner.  Nothing was working, not the promise of chips, cookies, or even Grandpa's soda was working.  Not until Grandma decided she was going outside to see the campfire Daddy had built.  Open Sesame!  Never has a two year old scarfed down two mouthfuls of green bean casserole more quickly.  No sooner than she'd finished and run off to put on her boots, when Daddy came in from the cold and announced he was done with the campfire.

Oops.  And being a safety-conscious pyromaniac, he'd doused the fire with enough water to make a fireman proud.  What's a mum to do?  If you're going to bribe your kid you have to come up with the promised goods.  PyroDad was running through the options (and opportunities) for making a roaring bonfire at a moment's notice.  Grandma to the rescue yet again (she's good, folks) with a starter log, or as she calls it: a cheater log.  Pyro, back in the zone again, quickly set about establishing a fire worthy of heating a iron bar to a glow-in-the-dark Yuletide red.  Which of course led to joyfully discovering how easily and quickly a red hot poker will burn through solid objects.

Over-Medicated

Had an interesting episode at the doctor's office recently.  I went in with a nasty sore throat and was told it wasn't strep (yay!).  Doctor told me it's a viral infection, not bacterial.

"Let me write you a prescription for antibiotics."

Wait.  Didn't you just say it was a virus?

"Umm... do I really need antibiotics?"

"No, not really.  You can just gargle salt water four times a day instead."

Whoa Nellie!!!  Now, I'm not in the medical profession, but it seems to me that a course of antibiotics and gargling salt water are on two vastly different ends of the treatment spectrum...

But that's just my humble opinion.

Leeches & Bloodsuckers

This is a leech.

This is a bloodsucker.

  And this is me

because I have friends who will help me remove

mean nasty viruses

that some script kiddie thought were fun

to put on other people's computers.

Guy Fawkes

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Courtesy of Wikipedia: Guy Fawkes Night

Pepper's Story

Seeing as Pepper is now famous as the cat on my profile photo (and some of you know what a delightful cat he is), it's time we heard about him. This is Pepper's story.

The house where I first saw Pepper was a sad sight. Dozens of dogs and cats ran throughout the small grassless yard and more could be heard inside. Pepper was the last of the litter to go, but by no means was he the runt: right from the start you could tell he was going to be a big cat. He was passed over because he was covered in muck.

A common misconception about cats is that they need to drink milk. Far from it – many of them are allergic to the stuff. I’d owned such a cat before and recognised right away what the problem was with Pepper. This pitiful, filthy ball of black fur was literally being poisoned by kindness. But the little kitten was not about to suffer that chaos any longer. He had a plan.

As soon as he was placed in my hands, he squirmed around until he faced me and then latched onto my shoulder. Immediately he began a purr to rival a chainsaw, with his whole body vibrating as hard as it could. He rumbled his way into my heart right then and there, which was just as well because he wasn't about to let go of my blouse.

It didn’t take much to clean up this little gem. Ten years and 15lbs of muscular bulk later (no excess fat – the vet says he’s buff), he still purrs like a chainsaw and has been a source of fun and many laughs. Here’s to another 10, mate.

The Gap

In Sacrament Meeting yesterday, one of the speakers discussed the difference between what we say we'll do and what we actually do. Calling this difference "The Gap," the sister giving the talk explained that it is something we experience in many ways in our daily lives.

This sister pointed out that if there is "a measurable need and a measurable outcome," we find it easier to rise to the task, no matter how difficult or even life-threatening it may be. With the natural disasters of the past few years in mind, think about how many people have sacrificed time, money and their own needs to attend to the needs of total strangers. These men and women have been angels to those unto whom they ministered.

The flip side to this is when there is little or no measurable need or outcome. This is when we often fail to perform – even if the task is easy. When we are rushed, overworked and tired, do we take time to sit down with the neighbour who just needs friendship? Do we listen to the child who wants to tell us yet another "knock-knock" joke? One of my friends has a sign in her house that says "Please forgive the mess and noise; my children are making happy memories."

Our Father in Heaven knows each of us personally and it is He who calls us to carry out this, His work. And as the scripture says; "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (see Mosiah 2:17). When we finally realise these truths and act on them, this is when we fill The Gap.

My Big Fat Greek Lie

When Mum came to visit last month, she brought 7kg (US translation: ~15lbs) of chocolate with her; or would have brought if it weren't for her suitcase being overweight. The chocolate was unceremoniously jettisoned, destined to follow her by mail. I suspect the arrival of said chocolate may have had something to do with the huge zit I noticed making it’s debut on centre stage last night.

My first thought as I stared at my reflection was "put some Windex!" After all, the father on My Big Fat Greek Wedding might be on to something. Hands up everyone who's removed a stain from their carpet with Windex? It works, people!! Although I recommend the clear stuff, not the blue.

I think that may be the extent of it's usefulness though. Carpets and windows. As for the unsightly pimple the next morning - that Gus doesn't know anything.

Sugar and Spice

My neighbours have two of the most adorable kiddies. Three-year-old Kate is growing up to be a very pretty, bi-lingual, mischievous tom-boy who has a kind heart and no qualms about sharing with others.

Her younger brother took an immediate fancy to my cat, although I’m not sure the feeling is mutual. True to the differing natures of girls and boys, once shown how to be gentle with Pepper, Kate immediately followed my example. Joseph, however, fixated on the body part that was presented in his face, and gave a sharp tug on Pepper’s tail.

Joseph has subsequently added a new word to his vocabulary; in fact apart from agua (while pointing at Pepper’s water bowl) it’s the only word I’ve heard him say: “meow-meow.” Although to be honest, it comes out more like bow-wow so he may be a little confused. It’s quite a common (and endearing) occurrence to hear the waddle-stomp of a 18-month-old who, with little nose and hands pressed against my patio door, hopes for a glimpse of the kitty, “bow-wow”-ing all the while.

Trees and Trials

I don't buy the whole "the sky's blue because it reflects the sea" and vice-versa thing. I think God made the sky blue to help us fall asleep while while lying in the sun on a clear autumn day. After all, blue does have a soporific effect.

I was reading a book by Henry B. Eyring the other day while sitting by some trees and dozing under a brilliant blue sky. He talked about being stretched by Church callings and it reminded me of something I learned about trees earlier this year. Apparently trees need wind to become strong. If they're protected from the buffeting winds, their trunks and roots don't develop properly and they remain weak.

If we don't learn to trust God and face our problems, we run the risk of becoming like trees without wind. Aren't trials one of the reasons we are experiencing mortality? To "... prove [us] herewith, to see if [we] will do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command ..."? (see Abraham 3:25) If our faith isn't put to the test by callings or trials that challenge us, how are we to become strong?

Albert Camus captured this perfectly when he wrote: "In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."

Culture Shock

The other day I was in the local craft shop trying to return something I'd bought previously in a fit of stupidity. (I'm not going to name names, but for those of you who know where I live, it's the ginormous one you pass on the way to my house.) I was attempting to convince the cashier that he didn't need my home address, drivers license, date of birth, social security number and rights to my first-born child just to accept the thing back, when an obviously well-meaning and more 'seasoned' employee felt it necessary to intervene.

After explaining that I'd bought the wrong thing and didn't see the need to burden them with all of this personal information, she eyeballed me and tossed her curler-curled dirty blonde hair. With a voice like Scarlett O'Hara after chain smoking for the past 100-odd years, she threatened, "Welcome to America, honey."

I was so utterly overwhelmed by her charming display of Southern Hospitality that the cutting but witty retorts which suddenly clamoured for attention where trapped somewhere behind my clenched teeth. Next time I go back, I must remember to congratulate her for managing to extend a welcome that was only slightly less hostile than the surly immigration official I met at LAX 14 years ago.

You Know It's a Good Day When...

Mum's birthday saw us at a restaurant talking about family, friends and fun times. I cracked a funny and she laughed so hard that the lemonade she was drinking came out her nose. Parents hope to see their children grow up to be caring, service-oriented citizens, while we just hope to see our parents laugh 'til they snort their drink.

Maybe Mum's reached the age where she needs a sippy cup again. I learned that term the other day in Relief Society when I was asked to pass one to the sister next to me. What on earth is a sippy cup? Not a baby bottle, apparently - that's for babies. It seems that any child who is 5 minutes or more past being a baby uses a sippy cup. Heaven forbid I should ask a 2.5-year old if she wants her bottle...

Had to ask Mum what we call sippy cups in New Zealand. Kiwi translation: beaker. Just hearing the word makes me want to crawl into a fetal position and suck my thumb. Such a Pavlovian response was the cause of many problems in Chemistry class, as you can imagine. That's probably why I'm not a nuclear physicist.