Sunday devotional - scripture study

I started a new "thing" (as I have a tendency of doing).

I actually learned this from a favorite blogger: having a scripture journal. Ok, I'd heard of it before, but one post in particular really got me thinking about it. And then I read this recap of  a presentation about scripture study called "the battle in our brains" which essentially said that we need to create the same positive associations in our minds with the scriptures and gospel study as we have with say Facebook or anything else we do regularly -- there's nothing inherently wrong with checking email frequently, but we need to create that sort of dependency on the scriptures too.

So I thought to myself: I need to be a little more serious about this. And I started a scripture journal, and so far (day one) it's been pretty cool.

I only studied one chapter but I wrote out some thought processes, as questions came up. It was nice, and I felt very involved. I like this method.

And by the way, the sister who gave that presentation will be giving it again this Friday at the Mormon Women Project Salon, so if you're near Salt Lake you're one lucky lady! I so wish I could go :(

Otherwise, church was good today, and Andrew and I are making nice progress on a musical number for two weeks from now: I'm excited! It's such a beautiful piece. We'll record it when it's ready so our family (and friends who may be interested) can hear it too :)

Oh, and I unearthed this little gem: Guidelines for writng LDS hymns. I guess there was a big push for members to submit new hymns in the 70s, but frankly everything he says could apply to us. It's basically an exhortation to create new content -- what a cool way of being part of the process! I'm thinking Andrew and I should try our hand at it. We'll see what comes of that! And speaking of hymns, I may have sniffed out a really cool story on the origin of the "Souviens-toi" French hymn, and I'm in the process of verifying it with the woman who I believe wrote it. I'll keep you updated :)

Have a lovely Sunday evening!

Family - a proclamation

So there's this blogger I follow, her name is Jocelyn and she is one of the most inspiring people I know. She used to be in broadcasting (do you see why I like her? :) and is now a stay-at-home mom. She blogs about their family life but most of all about her attempts to teach her children righteous principles. She writes beautifully and I love to hear the small and simple ways she testifies of Christ to her family. I hope I'll be as awesome a mom as she is.

Anyway, all that to say that in September she hosts an event on The Family: a Proclamation to the World





in collaboration with some other bloggers. It's always an inspiring read, and I love hearing so many women's perspectives on the proclamation and its role in their lives. You should come join the party!

More blogging

Blogger is working on new "dynamic view" formats that are rather interesting. I'm not sure if I'd want to change, I rather like my little place the way it is, but it seems like people will be able to choose how they want to view your blog. In fact, you can do it right now! Click on these links to get an idea of the new options:

http://cartwheelingdowntheaisle.blogspot.com/view/mosaic
http://cartwheelingdowntheaisle.blogspot.com/view/sidebar
http://cartwheelingdowntheaisle.blogspot.com/view/snapshot
http://cartwheelingdowntheaisle.blogspot.com/view/timeslide

Interesting no? What do you think?

In other news, Andrew's mission reunion was tonight and although I went more for the food than anything else (hey, there's good food at these things!)  it was a nice evening. It's fun to see people from a part of Andrew's life that I didn't share.

with the mission president and wife

I also officially signed up for a 5K... so now I'm forced to do it. It's something I've been wanting to do for while, just to prove to myself I can (this is coming from the girl who hated P.E. such much she may or may not have gotten waivers more than once to get out of it when it was running time...), plus the cause for this one is something I can definitely get behind.

It's the second annual "Commit to Virtue" run, organized by BYU's Students That Oppose Pornography (S.T.O.P.). I may be pretty passionate about the first amendment, but when it comes to pornography it just isn't as simple as "I'm allowed to publish pornography and that is my right to free speech." It's also about the women the industry exploits and abuses, the families its influence destroys, the men who suffer from addiction, and the objectification of human beings. So yes, I think the world would definitely be a better place without it.

I started warming up today (I'd call it "training" but then you might think I actually knew what I was doing), and just about died... good thing I still have a little over a week! When you think about it, I've DANCED the homecoming parade route three years in a row, so this really can't be that bad right? And we'll be following essentially the same path. But realistically, I'll probably run, walk, run, walk, and just make it through to the end at this point. Hey, it's a start!

Elaine S Dalton will be doing it too, so we'll be in good company! The sad thing is she'll probably outrun me. Oh well.

Folk hymn

This is crazy.

I was doing some research for our ward's Easter program (yes, I need to plan that far in advance) and there's a French hymn that I like that talks about going to a garden to pray, etc. and I thought it was very fitting for easter right?

The true "true meaning of Christmas"

You may or may not know that I'm the music person for our ward, but I am. And I've kind of gone crazy planning what was supposed to be an awesome Christmas Sacrament meeting program. Two weeks ago, I was certain it was going to be a disaster (pretty much due to my own bad planning), and then in true Christmas miracle style, lots of different people came to the rescue and now I'm sure everything will go very well tomorrow.

Anyway. I found this article very interesting--you should take a look.

"If we read the clues in our culture--Hollywood Christmas stories, casual comments, Christmas cards, even some sermons--it becomes apparent what the "true meaning of Christmas" is supposed to be. Christmas is the celebration of love, generosity, benevolence, kindness, brotherhood, and familial bonding, and the celebration of the joy, peace, and security that those things promote. The true meaning of Christmas--according to this way of thinking--is a kind of Hallmark sentimentality about a world where there is no strife, no anger, no hatred, and no criticism; a world in which there is no warfare in any of its forms.


...


As the magi and the shepherds and Mary and Joseph looked down on a baby lying in the manger, what brought them joy was not the vision of a world where everyone was as gentle and innocent as a baby. What brought them joy was the vision of the final and ultimate defeat of sin and death. They did not see a gentle baby; they saw a fierce warrior, a mighty king--a king who would subdue every enemy, conquer every foe, and bring about total and unfailing allegiance to God and the goodness which He is. He would bring about peace between people; but only after a long, hard, protracted struggle in which we must fight. The more immediate meaning of Christmas is not the joy of PEACE ON EARTH; it is the joy of the promise of VICTORY OVER EVIL."