Tales of a Shoebox Princess

Because of the news that LDS young men can now be considered for a missionary service at age 18, we face the possibility of having two sons serving concurrently. Paul has a big decision to make, now that he is suddenly eligible for missionary service. It will be a great act of faith on his part and ours to get him to Elder status sooner than he had originally planned, so we ask for your prayers. No decision has been made yet, and for sure he will finish this semester at college. We are excited for our niece Morgan, who will be able to serve 2 years sooner than planned because the age for young women was lowered to 19. She will make a great missionary! From what I see on facebook, her foot is already out the door. My pipe dream: That Paul will get called in Feb to Tijuana and that he's assigned to work with another Elder Evans.

No, it's not a half-sized ten things list; it's a piece of advice I gave out recently. A certain person confided to me that he/she had a messy car. In fact, the trunk, she/he said, contained a relic from 4 years ago, namely a hot chocolate covered mug that probably still had remnants of the hot chocolate in it. And it was buried under years of detritus. I told this person that every time he/she got out of the car, no matter where she/he was, he/she should grab five things from the car (not including things she/he was transporting from place to another such as DVDs to return and groceries). This way, the giant task of cleaning a messy car was turned into a little thing like finding five things to either throw away or bring up to the apartment. And it gave the person permission not to worry about the trunk until the inside of the car was cleaned out. I also advised this person that when the layer pertaining to the hot chocolate cup was unearthed, that the cup should be taken imm...

Merry Christmas, one and all (and probably just one person will read this today--me, as I'm writing it. But no matter. It's my scripture study for the day and whether or not anyone else reads it is not important)! I hope you have enjoyed your holiday. So I thought I'd ponder a few scriptures about the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ today. I will start with what is in my mind the quintessential Nativity scripture (and not just because it's a well-known part of The Messiah oratorio): Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. I can find so much in just this one scripture. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:" his birth was for us. We are born into this world for our own progression, essentially we are born each for him or herself, but Christ was born for u...

The snow is gently falling, making the Currier and Ives vision of Christmas complete. Paul just got up and said he's going out to shovel the driveway. He can be such a pragmatic boy. I imagine that he wakes up, looks out the window, notices the snow, and thinks, "The driveway will need shoveling," and then does it. I don't think he realizes that he could sit around, playing Wii, or texting or generally laze around on the couch until I asked him to shovel, and even then, he'd have like two chances to pretend he didn't hear. But no, he's putting his boots on right now. He hasn't even eaten breakfast! I wonder if he's being good for Santa? But then he's like that all year long. He doesn't do bribery. He just does. Every family should have a Paul. They are so nice to have! I'd even rent Paul out. Today's scripture (Luke 2:21-39) isn't considered part of the Nativity story, but it occurs so close to the night Christ was bo...

This has been a challenging, but rewarding, series of blog posts for me. Normally, I write in my notebook as I read the scriptures, and I miss days more often than I remember to do it. Hopefully (if you stick around long enough to read what I write) you don't find anything offensive or way off the mark. This is just a regular person searching for meaning and trying to personalize the scriptures. Matthew 2:1-12 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. I wonder if the wise men were surprised that Herod apparently knew nothing of this King of the Jews? I wonder if even they expected that the Jews would have at least known as much about the coming of Christ as they did, having known of the signs and watched for them, presumably by reading of the prophecies of prophets before...

Luke 2:8-20 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: I wonder if the angel tried to get the attention of anyone else? Were the shepherds the only ones who were of a mindset to listen? Will I hear inspiration and good news of the Spirit when the Spirit calls to me? And they were sore afraid: And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. I wonder what the shepherds thought of Christ the Lord lyi...

This will be a shorter scripture study today. The subject matter is the mortal father of the nativity story, Joseph, and there isn't as much about him in the scriptures as there is about Mary. But within these few verses from Matthew 1:18-25, we get a glimpse into what kind of man he was. Now, as it is written, the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. A rather noble thing for a man who probably would have been totally within his rights to make a public example of his intended bride (side note: I'm assuming that Mary and Joseph were in an engagement sort of arrangement, since we know from the above scripture that they had not consummated their marriage). Many men would have been aggressive about having been wronged in this way, yet...

Normally I don't talk religion on my blog. I was never very comfortable discussing religion with people I don't know very well or who don't share my belief system. And even then, I keep my testimony mostly to myself because I am not a scriptorian or a great philosophizer, and I don't have any new insight that hasn't already been shouted from the rooftops elsewhere. I have my own insights related to my own life, but since nobody is in my place but me, I figure they wouldn't be of use to anyone else. Or easily understood. For the most part, my friends see me at church and I do what I have been asked to do (sometimes with great discomfort--I have a very hard time conducting Relief Society. I can play the organ in Sacrament meeting and goof up every verse in every song, but I have come to accept that as just a part of who I am. Standing up in front of people who are of greater apparent spirituality than I makes me want to hide in the Relief Society cupboard un...

NaBloPoMo...National Blog Posting Month. I pledge to post 30 times (once a day) for the month of November. I like making really easy goals for myself. Anyone else game to take up the challenge of posting something every day? Click on the blue NaBloPoMo button in my sidebar. So today. I taught a lesson on Service in church. James 1:27 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." It was a good lesson for me to teach; not because I am always running around doing good and lifting the burdens of others, but because I need a reminder that service should be an important part of my life. It's also one of the best ways to lift myself out of despair and sadness. Blog lesson for today: serve someone in someway today. After church Jim and I went to Paul's cross country team banquet. Paul lettered and was voted Rookie of the Year by his teammates. Th...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 One of my favorite scriptures. Happy Easter! The kids must be getting old. None of them woke us up at the crack of dawn to hunt for Easter eggs. In fact, Jim and I had to wake them all up. And we sat around for a little bit before getting any of the kids up. Some day in the not to distant future, we won't color eggs, hide and seek eggs, we won't fill up Easter baskets. It's kind of sad. And with Katie gone, it's a glimpse at our future--the emptying of the nest. Yesterday we went to Dave's to wish Owen a happy first birthday. I have never seen a kid smile so big or be so ready to burst with joy as Owen did when we all sang "Happy Birthday." He got scared when the kids were batting at the pinata, but he cheered right up when we sang to him again. Here are the Hawleys: Dave, Owen, and Ma...