Chopsticks

When I eat Chinese takeout, I always use a fork. It's just easier that way, and ease is usually the point when I have takeout.

But when I eat in a Chinese restaurant, I always try to teach myself how to use the chopsticks, and I usually have a decent amount of success. I open the chopstick package, position the sticks according to the instruction on said package, and then flounder around with them until I get it working about halfway through the meal. So I finish eating with relative ease and go home. But the next time I go, I can't remember how I did it last time. Why is that?

Anyway, I went to a Chinese restaurant today. And I got a fortune cookie that actually contained a fortune: Your talents will prove to be especially useful this week. Much better than the advice fortune I got last time I had take-out. It said something like "You should leave your home to refresh your energies." At the time, I was on my lunch break and wishing I could go home early and take a nap to refresh my energies.

Prophets

I got the new Ensign yesterday- the special edition focused entirely on Christ. Of course, you could say they are all about Christ, but the articles in this one focus specifically on his life, ministry, and atonement. Also included in the envelope was a smaller magazine commemorating the life of Gordon B. Hinckley. I opened that one first. After spending a decent amount of time flipping through the pages and reading bits here and there, I set it down and picked up my Ensign.

In the moment between magaziness, as my eyes went from the picture of President Hinckley on one cover to the picture of Christ on the other, it really struck me that the feeling of the two magazines were much alike. And the thought that came to me was that President Hinckley's, and all the prophets', main mission was to direct souls to Jesus Christ.

Love

The first time I fell in love, it was through the internet.

My mom forwarded me an email she got from her brother, telling about how Cousin* went into labor, and Little Boy Cousin was born. I don't remember all the details in the email, but I think there was a basketball game involved in the story. But the important thing was the overwhelming feeling I got when I read Little Boy's name. Right then, I realized that it really is possible to love somebody you have never seen before.

Other baby cousins have come since them, and I love them all, but Little Boy Cousin is always going to be special because of that moment I had in the computer lab at the dorms.

*Names have been changed because I wanted to.

Holy Envy

The first time I remember hearing of Holy Envy was while watching a video in some Institute Leadership meeting. In it, there was a clergyman of another faith who said he envied the Mormons for our belief in eternal families and desire to work to save our ancestors. His definition of holy envy was finding something in another religion that you can admire and maybe even learn from.

In December, Mitt Romney expressed such admiration in his Faith in America speech:

I believe that every faith I have encountered draws its adherents closer to God. And in every faith I have come to know, there are features I wish were in my own: I love the profound ceremony of the Catholic Mass, the approachability of God in the prayers of the Evangelicals, the tenderness of spirit among the Pentecostals, the confident independence of the Lutherans, the ancient traditions of the Jews, unchanged through the ages, and the commitment to frequent prayer of the Muslims. As I travel across the country and see our towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the source of life’s blessings.

And now I will move on to the reason for this post. There is one practice completely absent from the church that I would love to borrow- Christmas services. At one point, this would have been the last thing I wanted. After all, church or mass on Christmas means that much less time for the fun aspects of Christmas. But the last year Christmas fell on a Sunday, we went to church, and that Christmas was probably the most meaningful Christmas I have experienced.

So, I suppose I should take from this an effort to put more of Christ in my own Christmasses. I'll have to consider how to best do that when I set up traditions for my future family. Until then, meditation and scripture study will have to do, unless the Church does start to have Christmas services as well.

O Be Wise

I want to be May Parker.

I got the Spiderman 3 DVD for Christmas, and after watching it, I realized some greatness about her. At least, the movie version of her.

(Spoiler Alert)

Called to Serve Them

Last Sunday, a recently returned missionary spoke to us. I don't remember everything he said, but one thing did stick with me. He was talking about how the missionaries devote a certain amount of time to service every week, and told a little about some of the different things he did to serve. Then he talked about all the people who didn't listen to or accept their message. That sounds like a bit of a subject change, but he made a connection: out of all the people who did accept the gospel, they had served every one. But the really significant connection was the next one.

He realized that during Christ's ministry, he went around and served people. That's what he was there for. And as Christ's representatives, that is what the missionaries are there for, too. They are there to make people's lives better, physically and spiritually. And then, going further, all people are here for the same purpose. After all, isn't our mission here on Earth in large part to become like Christ, as much as we are able?

And here are a couple scriptures to ponder over:

John 13:13-17
Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
Verily, verily I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Doctrine and Covenants 122:8
The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

I Resolve

I just noticed the word solve is in Resolve. Sometime I'll have to think of something profound to say about that.

I didn't want to make a resolutions post too close to the new year, because I'm sure everybody does that and I like to be a little bit different. But I don't want to put it off much longer.

My philosophy of new years resolutions is a bit mixed. Setting goals is good. I like goals. And the new year is a natural time to think about doing that, because of the fresh start and clean slate and all that stuff. An unsullied year to fill up with better things than last year. But our culture has just about accepted a new year resolution as something that will be broken, and probably within the month. Well, I would rather not set any goals if they are just doomed to failure. Unless it's a goal to gain 10 pounds this year. That's something to think about next year...

So, I don't really set new years resolutions. But I do often set goals that coincide with the new year. After all, with so many people thinking about what to do better next year, it is hard to avoid thinking about it myself. But if I never come up with something, I don't worry about it. And, besides renaming the thing, I have one other method of keeping myself from breaking my "resolutions" immediately: I make them more flexible. Instead of setting a goal to go running for a half hour twice a week, I decide where I want to be by the end of the year. That way, I won't miss two weeks in January and be done for the rest of the year. After all, I have 11 more months to work on it.

I did think of a couple things to work on this year during the last couple days of December. My official New Year's Goal is to get in the habit of writing in my journal at least once a week. And during the first week of January, I also decided to work on learning to play my guitar. Hey, I have the instrument. I really ought to be able to have fun with the thing.