Provident Book Club Night!

Sandra, Candace, Me

Last night I went to Provident Book/Humdinger Toys in Pleasant Grove. The ladies in that book club read Isabelle Webb: Legend of the Jewel for their first book club selection ever! I was so flattered to be there and had such a good time chatting with the ladies.

Eileen, Me, Tristi

This store is just so much fun. I highly recommend a visit if you're ever in the neighborhood. The address is 661 W State, Ste A, Pleasant Grove, UT. Click here for their blog and Karlene's post on the bookclub.

Karlene, Me

Thanks, everyone, for such a fun night!

Words of Wisdom

"Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for tomorrow."

--Thomas S. Monson

It's easy to get caught up in the "if only I'd," or "I wish I would have," mode of thinking. "I can't believe s/he felt/said/did that to me..." Sometimes we need to let go of all of that and live in the present. I know that thinking/dwelling too much on past pains can bog us down really fast and hold us there if we let it.

The quote above is from a Thomas S. Monson talk called "Finding Joy in the Journey," and it's full of good stuff. One particular paragraph states, "This is our one and only chance at mortal life--here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that elusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey--now."

I come from an impressive line of worriers. Combined with my Myers/Briggs personality profile which pegs me as an ENFP who thinks what could be is always more exciting than what is, it makes for a pretty schizophrenic person. I worry, or I think of what could be. The reminder to enjoy the here and now is really good for me.

There's an awesome quote in Kerry Blair's Counting Blessings. She speaks of the Mary/Martha "careful and troubled about many things," (if memory serves- I don't have the book right in front of me. It's on my nightstand). Kerry's quote is, in essence, "if you must be careful, be careful not to borrow trouble." That hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm often a borrower of trouble.

The whole message of finding joy in the journey is such a valuable one. It really isn't all about the destination. I love reminders of that because it allows me to take a deep breath, smile and appreciate the details along the way that make life so rich.

Joy in the journey

"Whatever hour God has blessed you with, take it with grateful hand, nor postpone your joys from year to year, so that in whatever place you have been, you may say that you have lived happily."

--Horace

Getting political for a moment...

So I don't usually step up on a political platform. Well, I kind of did with the Civil War series. Tried to be objective, but my emotions came out through Emily Birmingam. Anyway, I've thought a lot about that series this morning, and here's why.

When I finished Faith of our Fathers, I was emotionally exhausted. I was disheartened that history shows so many good people allowing something perverse to exist in this country for so long. Even then, the people called slavery a "peculiar institution," and indepth research about it and the war itself made for one sad writer.

I wasn't sure I'd ever see the day when this nation elected an African American president. It took 100 years after the Civil War ended to see an effective Civil Rights movement. 100 years! And this morning, some 50 years later, I witnessed history.

I was grateful to hear the inaugural invocation. Rick Warren is a California preacher of some controversy, depending on who you ask and on which side of Prop 8 you fall on, but it was nice to hear a prayer delivered on behalf of the people asking for humility, wisdom, forgiveness and blessings. Despite the divinely inspired separation between church and state, I love that I heard someone petition our Father for help on behalf of an entire hopeful, weary nation. It was a decidedly Christian slant, especially ending with the Lord's prayer, but I sincerely hope it will be received by all as the gesture of faith that it was.

One of my favorite passages from his prayer:

"Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ."

Now before you get all up in arms and post nastygrams to me saying that the Civil War was about more than slavery, I already know all that. I also still maintain that there was only one issue divisive enough to rip this country in half, and it happened when Lincoln was elected, having made his views on slavery clear. Race has been an issue in this country since its inception and the fact that we are now seeing such diversity in leadership and, indeed, in the highest post in the land makes me feel warm inside.

Regardless of what happens in the future, for now, I am hopeful. May our Father bless us all.

Oh! And a couple more things...

First, my darling son.



Secondly, my darling, weird daughters.



And thirdly, a really cool review of Isabelle Webb: Legend of the Jewel on Meridian. Forgot to post it when it went up! (And yes, Jennie is my friend, but she's also very objective. I didn't pay her one red cent!)

Win a Book!

I love easy contests! Jennie Hansen, my friend and extremely gifted author, is hosting a contest at her site. Simply respond to any of her blogs between now and the first of February and she'll enter you in a drawing to receive a copy of her new book, High Country.

Click on the link! Even if you don't win, you'll find yourself at a really cool blog.

Resolutions?

Between lots of family activity and Christmas itself, I haven't blogged for ages. And when I thought of all the things I should do this year, I got entirely too overwhelmed.

This will be short and sweet. I'm stealing from a comment on the V blog made by Jennie Hansen, whom I admire enormously. She mentioned that she tackles one day at a time, one mountain at a time, rather than get overwhelmed with massive New Years Resolutions.

In fact, here's her actual quote. "I don't make resolutions either, a whole year is too long of a goal for me; I work with shorter goals better, the climb this mountain today, then I'll think about tomorrow's mountain kind of goals."


I can't tell you how liberating it was for me to read this! I'm so relieved. Because there are some days when one day at a time is all I can think about. I'm probably not alone in this.

I wish you all the very best a fresh new year has to offer, and here's to getting through January! Bleah.