Some things get better with age (case in point)

As most of you know, I recently celebrated a birthday. Before you offer your congratulations (or, horrid thought, your condolences), you should know that I delight in each coming year... because I happen to improve as I age.

• I get smarter / wiser

if you check out my scrabulous stats, I have over 7 bingos. Seriously. GENIUS.

• I get nicer

speak up, anyone...

• I get better looking

I know, right?

Yes, my life really is that good.

Obedience and Personal Revelation

I have been listening to talks/speeches by President Eyring during my daily commute, and have noticed that almost all of President Eyring's teaching is summed up in these two statements:

"Just try two things: listen for the whisperings of the Spirit and then commit to obey."
and
"Write down impressions or thoughts that you feel came from God."

I have been trying to do this more as my previous Bishop really focused on these same teachings of President Eyring. As I have done so, I have grown in confidence with the Spirit. There are times when I do not doubt I am being taught - a VERY new experience for me - one I didn't really have faith in before. This confidence in the Spirit has come from keeping VERY simple commandments, which are often hard for me to keep because they require routine diligence and faithfulness.

"It is by obedience to commandments that we qualify for further revelation of truth and light. In this hour you may have committed to act on something you felt was true. Then more truth came to you. That process may slow or stop, if as you go out into daily life you fail to keep the silent commitments you made with God. God not only loves the obedient, He enlightens them. I fear that more people make promises to God than keep them, so you will please Him when you are the exception and you keep your promise to obey. You should test those impressions of what you should do against a simple standard: Is it what the Master has commanded in the accepted revelations? Is it clearly within my calling in His kingdom?" (From President Eyring's BYU Speech, "A Life Founded in Light and Truth." )

I know that we will receive personal revelation and more and more light as we act on the light and knowledge we have already received - which varies from person to person. But I know that as we follow those commandments (starting with simple ones), we will be crowned with more commandments - delivered through ordinances, the words of the prophets, and ultimately the Holy Ghost.

And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me. - D&C 59:4

I pray that we can all be crowned with commandments, revelations, and blessings - I know that the line between the three blurs as we receive more and more light - for they all are manifestations of the love of God and that truly, "As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints." (D&C 121:33)

D&C 19:39 Behold, canst thou read this without rejoicing and lifting up thy heart for gladness?

I cannot! :)

Easter

The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. - 1 John 2:8

I love both Christmas and Easter in that it is a special time to reflect on the light of the world - and the good news of the gospel. President Uchtdorf's most recent conference address I think captured the joy of the gospel beautifully:

"My dear friends, the Savior heals the broken heart and binds up your wounds (see Psalm 147:3). Whatever your challenges may be, wherever you live on this earth, your faithful membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the divine powers of the gospel of Jesus Christ will bless you to endure joyfully to the end."

There is darkness in the world - there are things that are hard, and so we must endure them. But the light of the world has come and his name is Jesus Christ. And we can endure our trials and difficulties with joy.

"Enduring to the end is exalting and glorious, not grim and gloomy. This is a joyful religion, one of hope, strength, and deliverance." (President Uchtdorf, Now Let Us Rejoice)

The joy that President Uchtdorf refers to is the joy found in our Savior Jesus Christ.

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. - Isaiah 12:3

Flashback

My family at Disneyland in 1988 (I think).

1 John 2:8

The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

iTunes Playlist

Morning Has Broken (Cat Stevens)
My Shepherd Will Supply My Need (Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
Beautiful Savior (Becky Williams)
How Can I Keep From Singing (Enya)
The Lord is My Shepherd (Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
Joy to the World (Sufjan Stevens)
Rutter's Requiem VI. The Lord Is My Shepherd (Choir of Clare College, Cambridge)
All Creatures of Our God and King (Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

somewhere i have never travelled by E.E. Cummings

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the colour of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

for Reija, on her birthday

lily has a rose by E.E. Cummings

lily has a rose
(i have none)
"don't cry dear violet
you may take mine"

"o how how how
could i ever wear it now
when the boy who gave it to
you is the tallest of the boys"

"he'll give me another
if i let him kiss me twice
but my lover has a brother
who is good and kind to all"

"o no no no
let the roses come and go
for kindness and goodness do
not make a fellow tall"

lily has a rose
no rose i've
and losing's less than winning(but
love is more than love)

Cheddar and Dill Scones

The Thomas family traditionally bakes these at Christmas. It's a simple recipe, but can take a bit of time because of preparing the fresh dill and cheddar cheese, but I think it's worth it :)

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1/3 cup minced fresh dill
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 3/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter two 9-inch pie pans.

Beat eggs, buttermilk and minced fresh dill in medium bowl to blend. Combine flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, pepper and salt in large bowl. Add butter to flour mixture and cut in until mixture and grated cheddar cheese. Stir to mix well. (Dough will be stiff and crumbly.) Knead gently until dough just holds together.

Divide dough in half. Pat each half into prepared pans to 1-inch thickness. Using long knife or pizza wheel, score each round into 6 wedges. Bake until toothpick inserted into each center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to rack and cool scones slightly. Cut into wedges.

Note: Sometimes I bake them in mini-muffin pans

Quote of the Day

Men’s souls conform to the society in which they live, with very few exceptions, and when men come to live with the Mormons, their souls swell as if they were going to stride the planets.

Hyrum Smith

How beautiful upon the mountains

I just posted the last two scriptures because they really do convey my thoughts and feelings about the ward I just left. I really missed it today - not because I don't love my current ward, but just because it was in my previous ward that so much of my faith was nourished and it was in that ward where I came to a true knowledge of my Redeemer. How beautiful that ward is to me!

Like the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, like the waters of Mormon - that time and place, and all of its associations, will always be precious.

Isaiah 52:7

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Mosiah 18:30

...the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.

Tom Ka Gai (Thai Chicken Cocount Soup)

I started making this when I was in college. I merged basically two recipes (one from Joy of Cooking and one from a Thai restaurant my father likes in the City). It has elements that are not authentic (such as jalapeno), but, frankly, I love the flavor, so I recommend using it anyway! This is one of my favorite soups.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups coconut milk
1-1.2 lbs. chicken
1/2 lb. straw mushrooms (substitute button optional)
1 oz. ginger, sliced
1 oz. fresh lemongrass (optional)
3 jalapenos, seeded, sliced
1/3 c. lime juice
3 Tablespoons Thai Fish Sauce
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon Thai Chile Sauce

Directions:
Bring coconut and 1 cup of water to a boil. Add ginger, jalapenos, lemongrass, and cook at medium heat for a few minutes. Add chicken, salt, fish sauce, sugar, parsley, and lime juice. Cook until chicken is done. Throw mushrooms in, remove from heat - serve immediately. Add chili totaste. Serves 4.

Note: It really does only serve 4. It makes a very small batch.

Press Release: Love Quilts

So I finally finished the finest quilt I have ever made!

I fell in love with this fabric after I saw a quilt my cousin Nie's baby received as a gift. So I bought some and made it into a large (between twin and queen size) quilt.

Hooray for finishing projects! It only took me a year ;-)

The Forgotten Dialect Of The Heart by Jack Gilbert

How astonishing it is that language can almost mean,
and frightening that it does not quite. Love, we say,
God, we say, Rome and Michiko, we write, and the words
get it all wrong. We say bread and it means according
to which nation. French has no word for home,
and we have no word for strict pleasure. A people
in northern India is dying out because their ancient
tongue has no words for endearment. I dream of lost
vocabularies that might express some of what
we no longer can. Maybe the Etruscan texts would
finally explain why the couples on their tombs
are smiling. And maybe not. When the thousands
of mysterious Sumerian tablets were translated,
they seemed to be business records. But what if they
are poems or psalms? My joy is the same as twelve
Ethiopian goats standing silent in the morning light.
O Lord, thou art slabs of salt and ingots of copper,
as grand as ripe barley lithe under the wind's labor.
Her breasts are six white oxen loaded with bolts
of long-fibered Egyptian cotton. My love is a hundred
pitchers of honey. Shiploads of thuya are what
my body wants to say to your body. Giraffes are this
desire in the dark. Perhaps the spiral Minoan script
is not a language but a map. What we feel most has
no name but amber, archers, cinnamon, horses, and birds.

Doctrine & Covenants 59:4

And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me.

Press Release: Passing the Torch

I recently got released as RSP in the Stanford 1st Ward to go up to the retirement ward in the stake (AKA Stanford 2nd). As I told my grieving cohorts of ST1, this is just the circle of life. We're born, we go to the 2nd Ward, and then we die.

The best part of getting released was passing the torch to one of my favorite people ever! JANE! (A close second was the RS Presidency Retreat a week later... see details here. Yes, I did stay up until 6am. Shocking.)

To give you an idea of how great it was that she has replaced me, check out these pictures (taken well before we knew our fate...)

This is Jane dressing up as me at my Birthday Party (just 5 days before she was called to BE the new me!) Note the expression, the dark finger nails, and the quilted jacket. She even dyed her hair black (it washed out, sadly):
This is from the Ward Christmas Party. I was trying to create a legacy. I didn't think I would ever find someone who could carry it on. But little did I know that the same Jane I was dressing to impress (and the owner of another lovely red blob suit) would not only carry on, but bring it to another level!

Just further evidence that God knows us, loves us, and that the Relief Society is a blessed organization.

John 8:32

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Thirst by Mary Oliver

Another morning and I wake with thirst
for the goodness I do not have. I walk
out to the pond and all the way God has
given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord,
I was never a quick scholar but sulked
and hunched over my books past the
hour and the bell; grant me, in your
mercy, a little more time. Love for the
earth and love for you are having such a
long conversation in my heart. Who
knows what will finally happen or
where I will be sent, yet already I have
given a great many things away, expect-
ing to be told to pack nothing, except the
prayers, which, with this thirst, I am
slowly learning.