Fire in the Bones

I am reading a wonderful book about William Tyndale, Fire in the Bones. I am fascinated by this man's life, his overwhelming desire to translate the Bible into English, thus making it available to the common man.
His translation of the Holy Bible paved the way for Joseph Smith to be touched in his heart by the beautiful words of James, and to inquire of God about which church to join. There are many similarities between the life of Tyndale and that of Joseph Smith - they were violently opposed by the religious leaders of their day, they were called heretics, they translated the words of the Lord by inspiration, they were tools in the hands of the Lord in providing light for their fellowman, they were both killed as a result of their service to their God.
There are many statements from this book that I would love to share, I will start with this:

Christ is the cause why I love thee, why I am ready to do the uttermost of my power for thee, and why I pray for thee. And as long as the cause abideth, so long lasteth the effect; even as it is always day so long as the sun shineth. Do therefore the worst thou canst unto me, take away my goods, take away my good name; yet as long as Christ remaineth in my heart, so long I love thee not a whit the less, and so long art thou as dear unto me as mine own soul, and so long am I ready to do thee good for thine evil and so long I pray for thee with all my heart; for Christ desireth it of me, and hath deserved it of me. Thine unkindness compared unto his kindness is nothing at all; yea, it is swallowed up as a little smoke of a mighty wind, and is no more seen or thought upon.
~ William Tyndale, The Obedience of a Christian Man

And here is one more:

The nature of God's word is, that whosoever read it, or hear it reasoned and disputed before him, it will begin immediately to make him every day better and better, till he be grown into a perfect man.
~ William Tyndale, "Prologue upon the Gospel of St. Matthew"

Robin's Birthday

Our sweet Robin recently had a birthday.
Years ago my friend Kim told me that I am getting so old that I have to start lying about how old my kids are ~ and that is more true as each year goes by.
But we are so proud of the beautiful, strong woman Robin is.
She has many talents and abilities, she loves life and laughs easily, she is a happy and patient mom, and she brings me and her dad much joy.
Here are some of our favorite pictures of her.

in our snowy yard in Idaho

on a visit to Grandma's house

with little brother Steve ~ I think he prepared her to be the mom of boys.

senior picture

the day she brought Dennison into the family

on a family outing

definitely one of our favorite pictures!
Robin may be our most adventurous child, she has been known to surprise us.

another favorite ~
Robin, we love you and your amazing family!

Making Good Things Happen

A few years ago I learned about creating good.
When I was a child good things just seemed to happen. Christmas was always magical, my birthday was filled with fun and excitement, our family had dinner together every night around our kitchen table, family prayer was a peaceful and touching experience, our home was neat and orderly - even though there were 9 people in the house, my parents always had an answer to my questions, and even the trials and challenges we went through eventually proved to be blessings.

Since having my own home and family, I have realized that Christmas, my birthday, family dinners and prayer, and the consistent feeling of love in my childhood home were the result of the efforts of my parents. I learned - to quote Bishop Larsen- that good things don't just happen. Happy marriages, loving families, peaceful neighborhoods, and successful businesses are the result of someone's thought, patience, sacrifice, selflessness, and hard work.

So it may be fair to say that the amount of good things in my life is a good indicator of my efforts to make them happen. I recently read this quote ~ "Your life is the result of the choices you have made; if you want a better life, start making better choices." I have decided to become more aware of opportunities to create good: to make good things happen ~ my marriage is strengthened when I am more concerned with the happiness and comfort of my husband than my own, I feel closer to my grown up children when I make the effort to stay in touch with them, and I feel happier when I make a point to smile and greet those I come in contact with in my daily activities. Some good things are beyond our control and cannot be forced, but we can set the stage for them to happen. I am more likely to feel the power and witness of the Holy Ghost when I spend time with the scriptures, and I feel the love of my Father in Heaven more when I pray sincerely and thoughtfully.

I am expecting many good things to happen in the future, through my efforts, or those of others -- they will surely be the result of someone's conscious decision to go about doing good.

Two of our favorite people

We were able to travel south this week and spend a few days with Rick. He is not too terribly far away, just far enough to keep us from being together very often. But we had a great visit and I got a good dose of Rick hugs. He is definitely one of our favorite people!

with the Jeep

in his apartment

with his girlfriend

And here is a new picture of another person we spend a lot of time with, and we love it!

in his new favorite place

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's day so I want to express my appreciation to my husband for the service he gave to our country. He saw much of the world and gained skills and perspective thanks to the time he spent in the USMC. I wish I had a picture of him in uniform that I could add, but the logo will have to do.

My dad is also a veteran. He served in World War II on a battleship in the Pacific. He was so young, yet willing to leave home and family to defend freedom. He taught me to love my country, and that freedom and liberty come at a high price.

It seems that many today have forgotten the sacrifices that have and are being made by so many to give us the freedom that we often take for granted. I am grateful to them and their families and pray that we will all do whatever is necessary to preserve the liberty of our nation that it might spread throughout the world.

the best of my journal

For the last year and a half I have been taking a small notebook to church with me and jotting down notes, thoughts, and ideas that come to mind during the meetings and classes I attend. Last Sunday I wrote on the last page. I am amazed at the insight and often profound thoughts I have been blessed with. Here are just a few of my favorites:

All I need to do to receive mercy is repent.

Remember that I am who I am because of the choices I have made.

Evil ALWAYS opposes good--but the Lord's strength is stronger than our weakness.

When we see, smell, and taste the real thing we more easily discriminate the real from the counterfeit, and are willing to sacrifice to obtain the real thing. Satan’s goal is to deceive us with counterfeits.

The Lord knows how to overcome my difficulties.

We don’t have the luxury of spending our time on anything that does not lead us back to our Father.

The gospel is not a spectator sport.

You are worth the best God could give.

The extent to which I think about Christ is the extent to which he is my God.

Obedience to law is the habit of free men.

Private behavior determines our happiness.

Sunday meetings are such a blessing in my life. Each week I marvel at the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the motivation it gives me to be a better person during the coming week.How grateful I am for the gift of the Holy Ghost, that he leads me to truth and helps me recognize and accept it, that he bears witness to all truth to all who humbly and sincerely ask.

Conservatives & Liberals

I have been reading a book I bought at Deseret Industries a few years ago called "Vindicating the Founders" written by Thomas G West. (Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. in 1997) It defends these great men against the accusations of racism, sexism, and elitism that are so pervasive in textbooks, our school system, and in our society at large. The author discusses the topics of 1) Slavery, 2) Property Rights, 3)Women and the Right to Vote, 4) Women and the Family, 5) The Property Requirement for Voting, 6) Poverty and Welfare, and 7) Immigration and the Moral Conditions for Citizenship.

I have not finished the book yet, but ran across an idea I want to share. For me, it explains the basic difference between conservatives and liberals; their perspective of mankind and the role of society/government.

John Dewey...was probably the most influential theorist of the New Liberalism... At the heart of Dewey’s liberalism was his belief in “historic relativity,” his conviction that there is no permanent human nature...the individual is always made by some historical context but is nothing in himself. “Social arrangements laws, institutions...are means of creating individuals.” Man is capable of being socially constructed in many ways. p 59
According to Dewey, man does hardly anything on his own; self-reliance and individuality are largely illusory. Qualities like “initiative, inventiveness, varied resourcefulness...are not gifts, but achievements.” Even intelligence is not “a ready-made possession of individuals.” That is because the social order, not nature, produces these qualities. “The state has the responsibility for creating institutions under which individuals can effectively realize the potentialities that are theirs.”
[That is to say] that man is essentially a victim or essentially disabled. For Dewey, it is precisely when people are left alone that they are the most vulnerable. p 60

[the Founders] saw in human nature qualities like reason, self-control, ambition, pride, and spirited self-assertion. They thought that if government protects lives and properties from being taken away by others, most people will be able to take care of themselves and their families. Lincoln’s remedy for slavery was not affirmative action or public welfare but opportunity for all people, white and black, to keep the bread they earn with their own hands. p 60
The presumption of the Founders is that normal human beings are capable of taking care of themselves, if only the artificial weight of legal privileges and restrictions is removed. “The political philosophy behind limited government,” writes Harvey Mansfield, “affirms that nature is more important than nurture: that humans have a fixed nature enabling them to overcome a background of poverty and deprivation.”
p 63