Expecting the Best

Pres. Monson's talk last night got me thinking...He quoted part of one of my favorites: "Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down; it is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others." We hope others will show us this Charity--and it feels amazing when they do! On the other hand, sometimes we forget that this very act of Charity also applies to us when, sadly, we are not treated as such. I suppose Charity is a cycle. We hope others will not judge or over generalize our actions. But when they do, we feel let down and hurt...but I guess we need to be patient with them and accept those same weaknesses and shortcomings too. I am still very far from it, but I really do see Charity as expecting the best of eachother...

Hope

Last weekend, my Mom and I went to go see the premier performance of "Lamb of God" by Rob Gardner in Gammage Auditorium. So Amazing! I'm sure I've listened to the CD about 20 times now and not just because I love the music, but I also love analyzing the creativity behind it...nerdy? Probably ;) One of my favorite parts, "Gethsemane" features the leitmotif or recurring theme of Christ portrayed on the Cello. I'm impressed with its power and emotion. Another favorite part refers to Calvary; "Hope did not die here, but here was given; and ours is the victory. Here is Hope." This program ends quoting Romans 8, which has for many years meant so much to me for various reasons...and I'm sure more reasons will be added: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakendess, or peril, or sword?...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us". Two of my favorite words from both quotes; Conquer and Victory! On a little more personal note, this music unexpectedly brought a healing power which awoke feelings I had not felt in so long. To sum up the "Lamb of God" I have one word : Hope

Together Forever

Last Weekend we had a funeral for my Grandma Allred who passed away not long after her 90th Birthday. At the viewing I was reminded of the connection our bodies have with our spirits. To see my Grandma so still and without life, it really had an effect on me. That's not the Grandma I, or anyone, knew. I loved the scripture quoted from Job 14:14 "If a man die, shall he live again?" One thing I have very strong feelings for is the idea of the Resurrection. I got to sing an arrangement of "I Know that my Redeemer Lives/Together Forever" and in those few moments, two things also struck me. "He lives so we can conquer death" and "we will be together forever someday". There is a power in those words and I felt it. I aslo felt it in these words spoken by Jesus Christ to Martha "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live..." John 11:25. I heard these words later that night as they were put to music in an Oratorio called the Lamb of God. This will go in another post...

First Blog!

I finally created my own blog page! So many are doing it, but I vowed I never would...ha! Somehow I always seem to give in to such things, mostly because I finally see their value. In this case, I would like to have a place to write down my thoughts, ideas and experiences. AND it's on a prettier format than a Facebook Note (which seems to be fading these days anyway). Enjoy!