Bigotry

 

Oh, how appropriate this quote is today.  I try not to be political on my blog or in my postings.  I try and keep an open heart and mind toward others and their beliefs and values.  But, with everything going on today all over the United States, I feel the need to address this.  There are too many things going on that are hate related. 

Hate is always wrong.  I amazes me that we spend so much time judging others, that we forget that Heavenly Father has commanded us to love them.  I have a hard time with the things that have gone on in Virginia.  I have a harder time with the acceptance of the things that are currently happening in Oregon and even in Utah. 

Don't get me wrong, I believe in free speech, but I also believe that the right to swing my fist ends where you nose begins.  Why, in this day and age, do we find it necessary to hurt others?  I get that your beliefs are different from mine, I understand that our ancestors come from different places with different ways of looking at things, but that does not excuse unkindness or outright aggression.  It does not excuse the taking of another's life or freedoms because of beliefs. 

I do not like violence.  I do not advocate it in any way or for any reason.  I especially do not like the ugliness that is spreading across our country.  I have friends from all races, and from all denominations.  I have friends who are gay and straight.  I am well acquainted with many different ways of viewing things.  I am also very embarrassed that anyone could believe they are better than someone else because of our uniqueness. 

I am not black, but I have suffered prejudices in all its ugliness.

I am not gay, but I too have been judged because of things I do differently.

I am religious, but don't believe that my right to believe that way should interfere with your right to believe however you see fit. 

My thoughts are that we should spend more time looking for ways in which we are the same, and less time looking for ways in which we can judge each others differences.

In Utah and Oregon, there are people who are putting posters around schools against other races.  There are people who want to say they are superior to others.  It actually causes me physical pain to think that someone else's children see these things on a daily basis, and believe, even if for only a minute, that they might be right.  It makes me sick to my stomach that there is anyone who would cause injury and death to another because of differences in the way we look, or believe, or are.  

I am also an EMT, and have seen  that we all bleed red.  At the very heart, we are the same.  God created each of us in His image.  He does not only claim one people, one nationality, one group, one belief.  We are all His.  Maybe, it is about time we started acting like it.   

Imagine what we could accomplish

I love this one.  Life is hard.  No matter what is going on for each one of us.  My trials are not your trials, they are mine.  To me, they are hard enough.  Imagine what we could do for each other if we quit comparing ourselves to anyone else and just accepted each other and loved each other.  As is, no holds barred, short-comings and all.  What an amazing thought. 
I look at the world today, and it scares me sometimes.  There are so many people who hate and want vengeance.  There are people who convince themselves that they have been wronged and slandered.  Maybe, they have, but wouldn't it be better if we could just get along?  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could actually be the adults that we profess to be and stop being unkind, unthoughtful, uncaring and even just plain mean. 
What a difference we could make in the world around us, if we could just accept each other and love each other through the hard times.  Sometimes, wouldn't it be especially meaningful if we could treat those in our own families that way.  Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to get angry with someone you know, rather than someone you don't?  Yet the ones we know deserve our love and acceptance even more than strangers we might meet. 
As we have done foreign exchange students over the years, I have learned to love deeply those with differing beliefs.  I have learned to see their countries through their eyes.  I have shared their food, and their hopes and their dreams.  In teaching them, I too, have been taught.  I have been uplifted.  I have been loved.  I have been so blessed in the sharing of good with them. 
So today, let us try to be just a little more Christ-like in our day to day living.  Reach out a hand, give a smile, help your neighbor, be a friend.  We really can change our small corner of the world.  So, let's bring a little light to the darkness and fill the world with more love and peace.  I know we can do it.  I know I can change this little piece of heaven here on the earth.  I think it might even be worth the extra effort. 

Gratitude for the things we were told

Who told you that you were__________?

When I was a child, I don't remember being told "I love you".  I do remember being told that I was the fattest.  That I was loud.  That I was just like my father.  I remember more of the negatives, because that seems to be what I was called the most often, or maybe, those things are just the easiest to remember.  

Remember the old saying, "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me".  I am here to tell you that is one of the most untrue statements ever spoken.  I don't remember all the times I was hit or beat up, but I remember the names I was called.  I became self-conscious because those names taught me that I could never be good enough.

The kids at school also called me names.  They called me so many that I never felt like I was liked.  I was made fun of and bullied.  I was ignored and got in fights that I didn't want to be in.  I had to wear dresses to school everyday because girls weren't allowed to wear pants and we weren't allowed to wear shorts under our dresses.  I hated dresses.  Looking like a girl was not something I ever did well.  

I have been told for much of my adult life that I have "chicken legs".  Hence, I never wear shorts and rarely even wear capris.  Even in the heat of summer I wear jeans or long dresses.  

As a mom, I did not want my children to go through anything like I did.  They did anyway.  Not by my, but by the other children. They have been bullied.  They have been ridiculed.  They have been unwelcome and they have been called names.  

I have one daughter with Tourettes and it has been hardest for her.  One thing that I have come to understand is that people don't think before they speak.  They will blurt out anything.  They will say anything.  They don't even realize how much it hurts.  

My point for writing this is that God has never called you those names.  He doesn't bully.  He doesn't make fun of you when you aren't listening.  He loves you even if you turn away.  He loves you even when no one else seems to.  He empathizes with you.  He has compassion for you.  He wants you to live with Him again.

My point is that we need to work on telling ourselves the things that He would want us to hear.  "You are beautiful".  "You are loved".  "You are needed".  "You have skills and talents".  "You are amazing".  "You are enough".   We should be casting out the words that we would not even tell our own worst enemies and replacing them with things that we would tell anyone.  The truth is not always the way we see it.  Sometimes we think we are the things we have heard.  

Becoming Like Him - Day 8 - Say

For my 31 days of writing, I am linking up over at Heading Home and over at the Nester. There are several of us that are taking the 31 day writing challenge. Kate has suggested that we spend 31 days of Five minute writing. You can use the prompts or write about anything you would like, you just need to write.

I am sharing my journey for 31 days as I strive to become more like Him. My prayer is that you can find hope and peace in my words.

Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

START

When I was a child, I heard many cruel and awful things directed at me.  I decided long ago, that I would not call others names like that.  I learned that the things that are said, sometimes hurt much more than the things that are done to you.  The words live on in my head.  Sometimes, I hear them still when I am having a bad day.  I never wanted to do that to my own children.  But often, I haven't known what to say instead.  I have really struggled with how to handle anger and what to do when I have those feelings.
I have wondered what a faithful saying really sounds like.  And then I read this scripture the other day when I was thumbing through the Bible.  I love the idea that a faithful saying is something you affirm constantly.  It is not a sometimes thing.  It is not something that hurts those who are listening.  I also love that part of a faithful saying is really Good Works.  So often, I meet people who wonder where God is in their lives.  They don't believe or even try to believe.  They forget that part of faith is really doing something.  It is more than a belief.  It is action in it's purest form.  I think that is why faith comes one simple step at a time.  Each step brings us a little closer to God.  Each thing we think and say and do, matters.  Especially when it is uplifting.
I wonder as I read this if all the things I am doing could be affirmed constantly.  I am sure the answer to that would be "no".  So as I continue on this 31 day journey, I am seeking to do the things that I can be happy about.  Things for myself as well as things for others.  Things that are good.  I want to remember to watch the words that I say.  Often, it is not the words themselves that hurt, it is the tone I use when I am upset or angry.  I want to make the things I say mean something good to those whose hearts I might touch.

STOP

Seven Days Without God Makes One Weak

I am loving this saying today.  Although I do think that "Fightday" just might come around more than once a week!  Of course, I have teenagers, so that seems to go with the plan. 
Actually, I love this because, in our busy lives, it can be so easy to take our Heavenly Father for granted.  It can be so easy to put Him aside for other things.  Sometimes, without even meaning too.  One of the things that I have noticed in my own life, is that when I let things go, for instance I forget to say my morning prayers, it becomes easier to not do my prayers the next time.  Soon, I am saying them in the car on the way to work, and pretty soon after than, they just disappear from my life all together. 
Satan doesn't tempt us with the big things.  No, he tempts us with the small things first, than as we move forward, he keeps tempting us.  At any time we are free to change, but change can be so hard.  We don't go from a covenant keeping, faith abiding people, to wickedness and evil in one action.  No, we think about what we would "like" to be doing first.  Then we watch those things, than we believe that one time won't hurt us, and soon we have lost our hold on the iron rod and wondered into the mists of darkness. 
We took the first step in taking God out of our lives. 
So, no matter what you are doing today, take a step back and thank Him for being there for you.  Put Him first and foremost in your heart and in your plans.  Involve Him in your day, and in your week.  He wants to be there for you.  If you feel that He is not, I guarantee that it isn't from anything He has done.  Invite Him back into your life.  Invite Him into your home and your heart.  He is waiting, hands outstretched, to meet you. 

What You Get

Sometimes, What you get

Is better than

What you wanted. 

Somewhere, in the midst of all those tiny people, are a couple of my grand children and my three younger girls.  Grammy and Papa took them all to the museum.  It was amazing.  Climbing, running, looking, crawling, sliding, searching and even getting lost once or twice was all part of our exhausting day.  Now, you should know that the girls did not want to go to the museum.  No matter what I told them, they thought it was going to be dumb.  The only thing they wanted to do was go ice skating and swimming.  

Sad to say, they have the meanest mom and grammy ever.  We went to the museum because I wanted to go.  Then they proceeded to have one of the very best days ever!  

I could post a hundred pictures here to show you how much fun they had, but I will stop with these few.  Suffice it to say, that I learned something from my kids.  We never know what is in store for us in this life.  We don't know if we will like it, or not.  We don't know if we will learn something, or not.  We don't know if it is going to be fun, or not.  But we do need to learn to trust.  To believe that God knows what we need.  He wants us to return to Him.  He loves us more than we can possibly imagine.   He knows each one of our names and what we like and what we need.  I love the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that says:  

"Pray always, and I will pour out my spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing - yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth."  D&C 19:38)

He wants to pour His spirit upon us.  He wants us to succeed here.  He truly knows our hearts and our minds and has sacrificed that we might also return to Him.  The scriptures are filled with stories of those He loved; the woman at the well; the lepers; the blind; the crippled; the sinners; those He raised from the dead; the five thousand that He fed; the children that He blessed.  We read of his desire to rescue the "one" lost sheep, the lost lambs, He has said that He would gather us together, "as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings"  (Matt. 23:27).  The Saviors example is indeed the light which shines over our path.  He is always willing to light our way in the darkest of circumstances.  Sometimes, what we get, ends up being so much more than we ever thought we wanted or deserved.  

A Day For Pizza

BE YOURSELF AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

We had the Elders over for dinner Saturday night, along with our very good friends.  Everyone's favorite meal at our house is pizza.  You see, it is completely homemade, including the dough.  There are so many toppings on it that I usually have to eat mine with a fork, although the girls tend to not want theirs built with quite as much "stuff", they do have their favorite toppings.  They just prefer the simpler variety with cheese, pineapple, tomatoes and Canadian bacon.  The adults like pretty much everything, including a good dose of spinach and jalapenos. 
 John always starts with the little ones and they pick what they want on their half of a pizza.  Pizza choices are a very big deal in our family.  The girls consider that entire half their very own and they don't like to share.  They hide the leftovers in the fridge for lunch during the week.  They know if mom sees them, she just might, (in a fit of weakness you understand), eat those pizzas.  John made the missionaries their own pizza and then made several different types of pizza for the rest of the adults.  We don't mind sharing, so there were lots of variations to select from.
Miracle and her best friend each put their half of pizza on their plates to keep them "safe".  It is crazy around our house at pizza time.  I keep trying to tell them that they don't need a whole half of a pizza, but they insist that it is their very own because dad said so. 
Miracle also made "oohy, gooy" brownies for dessert, as a tribute to my taste, as I don't like them crunchy.  We talked, we laughed, we tried to steal pizza from the girls plates.  Life is so wonderful when you are sharing it with friends and family. 

Isn't it amazing how everyone is so different?  We are a lot like those toppings on our pizzas.  We are each just a little or a lot different than everybody else around us, and no matter how hard you try, no two slices are exactly the same.  Not only are we different, but each of us has within us something that others need.
Have you ever been able to say exactly the right thing to someone when they are hurting?  Have you ever been a comfort or a blessing to another?  Have you ever been in just the right place at the right time to give someone a helping hand?  I know that I have been.  It is an amazing feeling.
It can be hard to remember that we are supposed to be unique.  We are supposed to be ourselves.  We do not need to be just like everyone else.  Heavenly Father has put us in this place at this time to be a blessing to those around us.  We each have unique gifts.  Things inside us that are the essence of who we are.  Those things about us that make us different than anyone else. 
We all live such busy lives.  Yet, in our very "busy-ness", we are different.  We are each a Son or Daughter of God.  He loves us and we love Him.  But I do not believe that He expects us to be just alike. Like the toppings on a pizza, together, we can be so much more.  He made us different.  He made us unique.  He made us wonderful.   

“To be yourself in a world

that is constantly trying to make you something else

is the greatest accomplishment.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gnomeo and Juliet

Today has been a good day.  The girls and I left the cold mountain (it was snowing when we drove out of our driveway last night) and came down to the desert for a couple of days.  Miracle has been sick, and so has my daughter Lori, so the zoo trip that we planned did not happen.  Instead, we have just relaxed, watched TV, and finally, tonight, I took all the girls and my sweet little two year old grand daughter to the movies.  We went and saw Gnomio and Juliet.  I thought it was a fun movie.  I especially loved the ending.  It follows much of the old Romeo and Juliet line.  Two different "families" at war with each other.  The feud has been going on so long they can't even remember how it started or why they hate each other.  Sometimes one side gets "ahead" in the war, and sometimes the other one does.  There are some members on each side that are meaner, and cheat more.  They keep adding fuel to the fires by their attitudes and their behavior.
As I  watched this animated cartoon movie with the girls, I couldn't help but think how like this we can be sometimes.  I have known people who hate, people who make fun of, people who are always angry.  I have known people who love to stir things up, people who gossip, people who spread rumors, people who don't like others because of race, color, nationality, or beliefs.  I have known people who criticize and belittle those around them.
It amazes me how people who profess to be sons and daughters of God with one breath, are so willing to find fault and belittle one another with the next breath.  As I watched a silly, little, cartoon type of movie, I couldn't help but reflect on how these funny little gnomes are like real people.
The lesson is to look behind appearances, open up your heart, and learn something new.  I think when we are willing to do that, we will find out how much we really have in common.  How little are our differences and how much love can truly heal.
So today, reach out to someone who is a little different than you.  Someone who needs you, but might not even know it.  Someone who needs the love and compassion from one of Heavenly Father's  earthly angels.  No matter what our differences, our hearts can join together and we can help make the journey just a little easier for each other.  I can't help but think that maybe that is what life is really about after all.

A Peculiar People

Deuteronomy 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.


Exodus 19:5  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:  for all the earth is mine:

I wonder, does being a peculiar people mean being like everybody else, or does it mean being different, being unique, being His.  Before we think that we want to be the same as everybody else, maybe we should consider what that really means.



Doing what everybody else is doing, isn't always (or even usually) the right thing to do.  Sometimes, it can be totally wrong.  The crowd doesn't always know what is right.  It is only looking through the eyes of one elevator.  The crowd doesn't see the whole picture.

So, what does being peculiar really mean?
pe·cu·liar –adjective
1.  strange; queer; odd.
2.  uncommon; unusual.
3.  distinctive in nature or character from others.

I think the Lord is particularly thinking of the third meaning.  Distinctive from others.  Maybe we should work just a little harder on being distinctive instead of the same.