Just as I thought...

Thanks Michal, this was fun! Click on the picture to see what Jane Austen character you are.

Take the Quiz here!

Caught In The Middle

So I was reading in the paper yesterday an article on internet usage wherein it described the social networking of Generation X and Y users. What caught my attention was that the article said Generation Xers were between the ages 27-40. I mentioned to my husband that since I am 41 I guess I must not be a Generation Xer. Then he said that his year was the last of the Baby Boomers. He's two years older than me. So where does that leave me? Not a Baby Boomer...not an Xer...

Goodness...I've lost my identity!

The Prince of Peace

“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.”

( Isaiah 9:6)

This is probably one of the most recognizable verses in the scriptures; thanks to George Frederic Handel it is sung the world round during the Christmas season. While the words come from scriptures, the music itself is surely inspired from on high. In fact Handel himself tell us where the music came from. Just after he finished writing the Hallelujah Chorus his servant swung open the door, “The startled composer, tears streaming down his face, turns to his servant and cries out, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself.”" (Quote taken from Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers.)

Chapter 9 of Isaiah yielded a very powerful experience for me and so ranks as one of my favorites. It’s also a perfect one to contemplate as we head into the season where our thoughts and activities are centered on the birth of our Savior.

After reading the above verse I looked up in the dictionary (Webster 1828) all the words associated with the names of our Savior. Here’s what I came up with:

Wonderful: adapted to excite wonder or admiration; exciting surprise; strange; astonishing.

Counsellor: Any person who gives advice; but properly one who is authorized by natural relationship, or by birth, office or profession, to advise another in regard to his future conduct and measures.

The Mighty God:

Mighty: very strong, valiant, bold, very powerful; having great command. Very great; vast. Very forcible; efficacious (productive of effects; having power adequate to the purpose intended; powerful). Very great or eminent in intellect or acquirements. Great; wonderful; performed with great power. Important; momentous.

The Everlasting Father:

Everlasting: eternity; eternal duration; lasting or enduring forever; existing or continuing without end; perpetual.

Father: He who begets a child. The appellation of an old man, and a term of respect. One who feeds and supports, or exercises paternal care over another. God is called the father of the fatherless. He who creates, invents, makes or composes anything; the author, former or contriver; a founder, director or instructor.

The Prince of Peace:

Prince: a sovereign; the chief and independent ruler of a nation or state; the son of a king or emperor, or the issue of a royal family; the chief of any body of men.

Peace: a state of quiet or tranquility;

• Freedom from war
• Freedom from internal commotion or civil war.
• Freedom from private quarrels, suits or disturbances.
• Freedom from agitation or disturbance by the passions (fear, terror, anger, anxiety); quietness of mind; tranquility; calmness; quiet of conscience.
• Heavenly rest; the happiness of heaven.
• Harmony; concord; a state of reconciliation between parties at variance.
• Public tranquility; that quiet order and security which is guaranteed by the laws.
• Used in commanding silence or quiet.

What’s in a name, truly? Do not these definitions open your mind as to the personality, character and eminence of our Savior? Each definition is worthy of more contemplation, but that would make for a really long post, so I will focus on the last name, The Prince of Peace.

When I first read the definition for “peace”, just the act of writing down the words brought a sense of peace to my heart. This last year having been a turbulent one for me, I had often prayed for peace, but after reading these definitions, I realized that I need to be more specific in my prayers as to what kind of peace my heart needed. A couple of days after having done this chapter I had the opportunity of application to my life. I had been feeling very frustrated at my husband for something and also, my husband, my son and I had been at variance with one another. After a round of words I found myself in my closet in tears. As I knelt there asking for peace I reflected on the definitions I had learned and I contemplated what kind of peace I was seeking. I prayed for freedom from the internal commotion I felt because of the discord with my husband; I wanted it taken from my heart. I prayed for freedom from the private quarrel and disturbance that was between the three of us. I asked for harmony and a state of reconciliation so that we would not be at variance with each other and that tranquility would be restored to our home. Just the act of praying in such a specific way brought about a sense of peace, and then as I went about my day I began to see the Lord answering my prayer. At one time I spoke to my son with sharpness and as I did so a thought popped into my mind, “Is this how to establish peace?” It made me stop quickly and change my tone of voice and my attitude toward him and the situation. Later that evening my husband asked my son to go see a movie with him, thus helping to restore goodwill between the two of them. As for the internal commotion I felt toward my husband, I decided to try a different approach to this frustrating situation, one that I was not particularly comfortable with but one that I knew would make him happier. As the day progressed I noticed the internal commotion in my heart becoming less and less and by the end of the day I didn’t feel it at all.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

The Lord’s gospel is the “gospel of peace” which the Lord sent by angels to the world. (D&C 27:16) His gospel has everything required to bring about peace in this world, peace that begins within each one of us as we truly seek it. He is the Prince of Peace, and we can find that peace as we look to the “author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrew 12:2).

Constructing on a sure foundation

Hi there. I’m back…not that you ever realized that I’ve been gone, well I mean other than gone from this blog. Anyway, it’s been awhile. Look at my poor blog…so neglected. Ok,ok, not that it was ever really fully utilized, but I think this has been the longest span ever in its short life! And not only have I neglected it, but I left it void of color and life because I couldn’t figure out how I wanted it to look. I’m too picky I guess, but the choice of templates is way too limited even with being able to change colors and fonts. I don’t want anything Plain Jane, I want pizzazz! Or at least something that shows off my style and personality a little better! But thanks to my sweet sil who has mastered the blogging world and knows the ins and outs of backgrounds and banners, I’ll be working on decorating and fixing up the place. I’ve picked her brains a bit and I’m going to be peppering her with more questions until I am able to make mine as cute as hers…after I get off vacation that is (that’s why I’ve been gone…this summer has been a perpetual vacation, and a badly needed one at that!).

As to the new name "Under Construction", well, at first it I was changing things around so much it felt like a construction zone, so I thought I’d put that name up until I was done decorating, but after some contemplation I realized that it’s actually a very fitting title because it accurately describes the course of my life over the last, say, 14 years…

See, we’ve built two houses since we’ve been married and are in the process of building a third. The building process itself, once you get going, isn’t so hard, I actually enjoy that part, because it’s exciting to see the framing go up, and then getting to pick out all the things for inside is tremendously fun especially when you get to see it all come together. It’s time consuming, but usually very satisfying in the end. What’s been hard is that each house we have built hasn’t been for us, really. They were homes that were meant to be sold after living in them for a couple of years. But unfortunately a couple of years usually turned into three or four. But since I thought we’d only be there two I never took the time to decorate and make it as homey as I would if I had known we were going to be there longer. And then we were in rental homes between, which we were supposed to be in for maybe a year, give or take, but it usually turned into two or three (we’re going on three in our present rental). And it’s very hard to really make a rental feel like your own. So consequently I have never really felt at home anywhere, because everywhere I’ve lived was just going to be temporary. It’s a very unsettling feeling. And not only did I not decorate and move fully into my many houses, but I didn’t move in fully to my life! Everything was always put on hold “until the final house where we will have everything just like we want”. The problem is my kids grew up during this time. We are actually about 5 years behind schedule for the “final house”. My oldest should have been 12 when we moved into the “final house” and have at least 6 more years to go. As it is, my oldest will be going off to college in a couple of years and will only get to live in the house for maybe a year or two, and that’s only if she decides to go to a local junior college (crossing my fingers, I don’t want her to leave yet!), and the next child is only a year behind that!

That’s the short story, it’s much longer really and more complicated but the idea is that I have constantly felt “Under Construction”. So there it is. A fitting metaphor for my life and, hence, my new title. I kind of like it actually.

Let’s take this metaphor even further.

One scripture that I have been led to time and time again is Helaman 5:12...

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

You see, while my physical life has been in a constant construction process, so has my spiritual life. The difference is the physical things of my life are temporary. I’d like some of them to last a little longer than others. I’d like this next home to get built so that I can put down some roots and feel settled for awhile. I want a garden and a trampoline and a place for my kids to run around without worrying about them. But I still recognize that it’s all temporary. We could lose everything tomorrow and be living on the streets!

Spiritually though, I am building on a rock. I could not have weathered all the moving about if I were not. The walls that I put up to defend myself against the whirlwinds are built on a foundation that is not temporary. But I have to constantly be constructing those walls, and I also have to constantly be in touch with the Architect. He’s the one to tell me where the next board needs to go.

Therefore I am constantly “Under Construction”…but it’s so worth it.