"Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless. [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”20 (John 14:18, 23.)
My other plea at Easter time is that these scenes of Christ’s lonely sacrifice, laced with moments of denial and abandonment and, at least once, outright betrayal, must never be reenacted by us. He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance, that never again will He find only unresponsive onlookers when He sees you and me along His Via Dolorosa in our present day. As we approach this holy week—Passover Thursday with its Paschal Lamb, atoning Friday with its cross, Resurrection Sunday with its empty tomb—may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,”21 (Mosiah 18:9.) for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc
Text: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1032-27,00.html
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Spring has arrived!
Spring has fianlly arrived! Two experiences have brought this beautiful phrase into full force in my little universe. First, baseball season has begun! Ever since I was six years old, not a spring goes by that I do not start to get excited for the impending season. Even the years where I don't have the time to watch the games I'd like or play like I want, just knowing that the games are going on and that the sport is being played by someone somewhere in the world makes me smile. Baseball helps to make the world go round in my universe. In honor of this start, my little brother and I went and played catch and hit the ball around at the park. What a glorious feeling i could not even begin to describe. And I won't, for I might be thought to need some serious help with my love of baseball. But a fun side note, as we're fielding for each other, another player steps onto our "field." A big black and white collie of sorts comes running onto our "field" and starts fielding with my brother. This particular dog was a stunningly gorgeous collie AND was an excellent fieldsman. It was fabulous to have a third player that LOVED to chase the ball.
The second experience came when I was on a drive earlier this week. The blue, blue sky was showing, with just a few hints of white, fluffly clouds. A nice cool breeze (not the whipping, freezing ones we've experienced off and on lately) blew through my hair as I drove with the window rolled down. I wore sunglasses and flip flops in a combo I have so sorely missed. To top it off I listened to Colbie Caillat (and don't say a thing- it is my female prerogative to listen to a few songs like this from time to time), with the image of the beach rolling through my mind. Despite all my frustration with the job hunt and lack of progress in my world, I felt like the world was set aright at that moment. Spring is finally here!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Last week's adventure
The last few months my family has been talking about how we really need to go on a cruise some day. And last week, we got our chance! I have always loved the ocean and it's beautiful underwater life. Here are a few of the underwater pictures I snagged.
A starfish. Who doesn't love a starfish? (And if you don't love it, don't tell me)
Second, we have the sea enenimies. Aren't they so bright and colorful?
Sorry this one is a bit blurry, but look at that pearl!
So a confession here, I got so distracted by the gorgeously colored plant life that I almost missed the Aztec ruins here. And I call myself a history major... Maybe I picked the wrong major (as if the current job hunt hadn't already told me that).
Did I have anyone fooled at all? No really, my family really has talked about going on a cruise some day, but for now we have to be content with the 15 minute Finding Nemo submarine voyage at Disneyland. And for those of your who have not ridden, it is actually quite nice.
A few stories to mention about our trip. During our first couple hours we walked down to Splash Mountain. We've ridden the ride and know that you can come off the ride anywhere from amazingly, desert-like dry to looking like you just stepped out of rainforest. We saw some people getting off and several groups seemed to be pretty dry. It was also a particularly nice day so we found no reason not to take the chance. I volunteered for the front for two reasons. First, you can put your feet up on a little bump at the front. Wet shoes are the worst so I was willing to get wet if I could save my shoes. Second, I am now the shortest in the family, and as I like the visual beauties that the ride contains, sitting in the front is the best view. So off we go to get on the ride. For those of you that have ridden it, you know the first drop inside, right by where Briar Bear is showing off his hinny? Well as we come down that drop, guess what happened? Again, we've ridden this ride before and been soaked before. But this was a whole new experience. The water literally formed a wave wall that came over the top of the log and landed in my lap. It was hilarious, particularly for my siblings right behind me. I too couldn't help but laugh (at least until my pants were still wet hours later...)
A second story actually has nothing to do with the park. We ran to the store to pick up a few things. I don't know how I manage to do it, but on like every other trip I manage to leave my toothbrush at home. Shelby and I are looking at toothbrushes when I hear "senorita, senorita." I turn around and there is this little old lady in a wheelchair pointing up to one of the top shelves. She clearly needed help reaching one of the items. She said "blue" and then a few phrases in Spanish and after a confusing moment, I grabbed the item she wanted and handed it to her. Although it would seem to be quite the minor shopping moment, it reminded me of being in India, of trying to buy things from little street shops without knowing the local dialect at all. Pointing, numbers, and shaking heads yes and no became the key forms of communication. I felt an instant connection with this woman for that small moment simply because I understood what it was like to have that experience, to be somewhere without knowing the local tongue. Although I could not communicate that shared moment to her, I nonetheless left with a pensive spirit.
Ok, just one more moment to share. At California Adventures there is an Aladdin show. It is a fantastic 45 minute mini Broadway musical version of the movie. We've seen it a couple times so we are starting to notice side things you wouldn't notice the first time you see a performance. In Prince Ali's entrance, there was a "camel" from the entourage that was trying to win the attention of a young boy in the front row. Despite the "camel's" efforts, it didn't work. I laughed to myself about this and didn't think much of it. Later that night as we were discussing activities of the day, I realized I wasn't the only one in the family who had noticed this. We were laughing about it and then probably stretched it a bit too far. The following will probably reveal too much about my family's sense of humor, but alas, here I share it anyway. My mom made the comment that the "camel rider" was moving the "camel's" head so much she was afraid it would fall off. I made the comment that it was in the efforts of trying to entertain the sole kid in the front row... We continued down this path and it ended with the question: if camel's head had fallen off into the boy's lap would that child be scared for life? The best part was we laughed the entire journey to this final question.
Anyway, this is far too long, but nonetheless a few moments on the Cowles' family vacation.
A starfish. Who doesn't love a starfish? (And if you don't love it, don't tell me)
Second, we have the sea enenimies. Aren't they so bright and colorful?
Sorry this one is a bit blurry, but look at that pearl!
So a confession here, I got so distracted by the gorgeously colored plant life that I almost missed the Aztec ruins here. And I call myself a history major... Maybe I picked the wrong major (as if the current job hunt hadn't already told me that).
Did I have anyone fooled at all? No really, my family really has talked about going on a cruise some day, but for now we have to be content with the 15 minute Finding Nemo submarine voyage at Disneyland. And for those of your who have not ridden, it is actually quite nice.
A few stories to mention about our trip. During our first couple hours we walked down to Splash Mountain. We've ridden the ride and know that you can come off the ride anywhere from amazingly, desert-like dry to looking like you just stepped out of rainforest. We saw some people getting off and several groups seemed to be pretty dry. It was also a particularly nice day so we found no reason not to take the chance. I volunteered for the front for two reasons. First, you can put your feet up on a little bump at the front. Wet shoes are the worst so I was willing to get wet if I could save my shoes. Second, I am now the shortest in the family, and as I like the visual beauties that the ride contains, sitting in the front is the best view. So off we go to get on the ride. For those of you that have ridden it, you know the first drop inside, right by where Briar Bear is showing off his hinny? Well as we come down that drop, guess what happened? Again, we've ridden this ride before and been soaked before. But this was a whole new experience. The water literally formed a wave wall that came over the top of the log and landed in my lap. It was hilarious, particularly for my siblings right behind me. I too couldn't help but laugh (at least until my pants were still wet hours later...)
A second story actually has nothing to do with the park. We ran to the store to pick up a few things. I don't know how I manage to do it, but on like every other trip I manage to leave my toothbrush at home. Shelby and I are looking at toothbrushes when I hear "senorita, senorita." I turn around and there is this little old lady in a wheelchair pointing up to one of the top shelves. She clearly needed help reaching one of the items. She said "blue" and then a few phrases in Spanish and after a confusing moment, I grabbed the item she wanted and handed it to her. Although it would seem to be quite the minor shopping moment, it reminded me of being in India, of trying to buy things from little street shops without knowing the local dialect at all. Pointing, numbers, and shaking heads yes and no became the key forms of communication. I felt an instant connection with this woman for that small moment simply because I understood what it was like to have that experience, to be somewhere without knowing the local tongue. Although I could not communicate that shared moment to her, I nonetheless left with a pensive spirit.
Ok, just one more moment to share. At California Adventures there is an Aladdin show. It is a fantastic 45 minute mini Broadway musical version of the movie. We've seen it a couple times so we are starting to notice side things you wouldn't notice the first time you see a performance. In Prince Ali's entrance, there was a "camel" from the entourage that was trying to win the attention of a young boy in the front row. Despite the "camel's" efforts, it didn't work. I laughed to myself about this and didn't think much of it. Later that night as we were discussing activities of the day, I realized I wasn't the only one in the family who had noticed this. We were laughing about it and then probably stretched it a bit too far. The following will probably reveal too much about my family's sense of humor, but alas, here I share it anyway. My mom made the comment that the "camel rider" was moving the "camel's" head so much she was afraid it would fall off. I made the comment that it was in the efforts of trying to entertain the sole kid in the front row... We continued down this path and it ended with the question: if camel's head had fallen off into the boy's lap would that child be scared for life? The best part was we laughed the entire journey to this final question.
Anyway, this is far too long, but nonetheless a few moments on the Cowles' family vacation.
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