Tweet Tweet

I have been consciously avoiding Twitter for several years now. When I started this blog for my Digital Civilizations class, part of our coursework dealt with learning to use and apply digital tools. But I refused to sign up for Twitter. It just seemed excessive- post a Facebook status, tweet that, send a picture to Instagram, pin it to Pinterest, and blog about all of that. I don't want to just live my life online- I want to really live it. At the same time, me and this thing I have about connectedness, I wonder if Twitter is really doing just that. Is it connecting us as we tweet back and forth?

Then this week, Elder Bednar (click here for the full talk) gave the Tuesday morning devotional at BYU about social media. He reminded us that we have a part to play "to sweep the earth with a flood" of uplifting and inspiring messages. Simply put, "social media gives us a way to share simple messages of goodness and truth." He quoted Brigham Young (from back in 1862) saying, "Every discovery in science and art, that is really true and useful to mankind has been given by direct revelation from God, though but few acknowledge it. It has been given with a view to prepare the way for the ultimate triumph of truth, and the redemption of the earth from the power of sin and Satan. We should take advantage of all these great discoveries, the accumulated wisdom of ages, and give to our children the benefit of every branch of useful knowledge, to prepare them to step forward and efficiently do their part in the great work”. Wow. 1862? Can you see that eternal perspective?

He gave some basic guidelines for social media use including:

• Be authentic and consistent
• Seek to edify and uplift- not argue, debate, condemn, or belittle
• Respect intellectual property
• Be wise and vigilant

He did not come out and tell all of us to blog if we aren't, to get an account for all social media sites, etc. He didn't tell me to get a Twitter account. The Spirit did. He merely invited us to turn our influence for good into a mighty flood of positivity and goodness in a world often filled with cynicism and selfishness.

I love sharing the gospel and the joy it brings me here on my blog. I love sharing things via Facebook. And I'm looking forward to sharing goodness through Twitter. I want to reflect the immense gratitude, peace, and sense of purpose I have in my life because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope you will all join me in this new adventure. #sharegoodnes #newadventures #ElderBednar @kristi_girasol

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

When I saw the ice bucket challenge my first thought was not on the cold water or the funny reactions. My first thought was Morrie Schwartz.

Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie has been a powerful book for me. A young man who has forgotten how to really live combined with an old teacher who has learned how to die. Morrie was dying from ALS, or "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease,". According to the ALS Association it " is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed."

Every case is different. Some pass away quickly. Others live many productive years with the disease as a part of their lives. Any given year about 30,000 American struggle with the disease and there is no cure. There is one medication developed to slow the progression and spread of ALS, but it does not cure it. I love how this challenge has spread awareness and ignited support for research and I can't help but thinking what a difference it would make if each year there was one cause everyone supported and donated for. Cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's Disease, local food banks, education in Africa. Take your pick- name one. Can you imagine the difference if we saw this kind of incredible support for so many causes?

But lest we forget the real purpose behind all the hilarious ice bucket challenge videos ( I mean, who didn't love Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher getting the ice dumped from a tractor, or Jennifer Garner and Shakira helping their husbands complete the challenge), I want you to remember Morrie. Or someone else who has been affected by ALS. You know how cold you are after that cold water? How you momentarily lose control of limbs and speech? Imagine living your life that way, slowly losing control of movement, speech, and eventually all other functions. So remember why we are doing this.

When we remember, part of them is still with us. So here are some of my favorite Morrie quotes:


“Death ends a life, not a relationship.”


“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”


“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in. Let it come in. We think we don’t deserve love, we think if we let it in we’ll become too soft. But a wise man named Levin said it right. He said, “Love is the only rational act.”

Tidbit Thursday- 25 Fun Facts About the Universe

It's been awhile since I've shared my love of trivia so here is another dose of Tidbit Thursday, thanks in part to MSN:

• If you eat a polar bears' liver, you will die of a vitamin A overdose.
•  Scallops have dozens of eyes and they are usually blue.
• Cleopatra lived closer in time to the building of the Empire State Building than the construction of the Great Pyramid.
• And speaking of pyramids, there were still mammoths on the Earth when the pyramids were being built.
• A banana is technically a berry (say what?!), but a raspberry is not.
• And a peanut is not a nut- it's a legume.
• All of the American flags left on the moon have been bleached white by radiation from the sun.
• The deepest point in the ocean is measured to be about 3,6200 ft, or roughly the length of 37 Eiffel towers.
• Though mercury is a metal, it just happens to be a liquid at room temperature.
• One head of human hair could support the weight of two elephants. I'm not sure how they are measuring this exactly...
• Oxford University is older than the modern English language.
• The entire current population on Earth could fit inside Texas and still be less crowded than New York City. Go Texas : )
• If all the shrimp in the ocean snapped their claws at the same time, it would reach 246 decibels, potentially making shrimp the loudest animal in the ocean. But I mean, really? Who figured that out? And why?
• The surface area of Russia is slightly larger than the dwarf-planet, Pluto. Wow, an the similarities continue between arctic Russia and the frozen Pluto.
• Every human is born with the ability to wiggle their ears. But it the talent is not discovered early, the muscle atrophies. Darn it. I missed by chance.
• Breathing in the city of Mumbai for one day is equivalent to smoking two and a half packs of cigarettes.
• Alexander the Great conquered half the known world by age 22. Makes me feel like a slacker.
• There are more possible games of chess than there are known atoms in the universe-- I did some more research on this bizarre fact to discover than the number of known atoms is 10^79 while the number of unique chess games is 10^120.
• And while we are talking chess, the word "checkmate" comes from an Arabic term "Shah mat", which means "the king is dead".
• Also, the first folding chess board was invented in the 1100's by a priest. Designed to fold in half and look like two books, it helped them conceal the game since it was forbidden to the priests.
• Neptune has barely completed one complete orbit since it was discovered in 1846.
• And Pluto has yet to complete one orbit since it's discovery and won't until March 23, 2178.
• The heart of a blue whale is roughly the size of Volkswagen Beetle and it's aorta is large enough for a human to crawl through!!
• Lego makes more tires than any company in the world. Including real tire companies.

"The more connected we feel to our righteous forefathers, the more likely we are to make wise and righteous choices."- Elder William R Walker

Life Goes On

Earlier this week a coworker left work early in a frenzy when she learned her son was in a diabetic coma. We encouraged her to just go and covered her work for the rest of the day. Today I asked how he was doing and she let us know he is in ICU and not doing well. We spoke for several minutes and then returned to work. I once again focused on the paperwork in front of me, but felt an immediate stab of guilt for moving on to such normal activities when others' lives are cracking and crumbling. Does anyone else feel this guilt?

 

At particularly challenging moments in my life I will admit to feeling frustration and annoyance when others around me could continue with normal daily activities. Some moments stand out more than others. When my uncle, Andy, and then my grandfather each passed away, so did a part of me, for awhile at least. To watch others carrying on was, in my grief, upsetting at times. Why couldn't everything just stop? Why can't the world slow down so I can mourn properly? It's like asking why we don't have rain for every funeral or vacation days we can take after every heartbreak.

 

But that was the first stage for me. Soon after, I realized that more than anything I wanted the world to keep moving, for life to keep changing, growing, and challenging me. I want friends around to me to find joy and progress in their lives, even if sometimes I feel left behind. Because it reminds me of all the incredible and wonderful experiences and moments that are still here for me. Now, I find a new song that I dance around my apartment to and I know that all the music in the world wasn't silenced when Charley died. Now I feel the joy and excitement of seeing two friends get married and start a life together, and I know that I can still feel real love and joy after Andy. Now I can see tragedies and darkness and know that light and truth will always prevail in the end.

 

Life goes on. And that's okay. In fact, it's wonderful.

 

 

***

"Strong, proactive obedience is anything but weak or passive. It is the means by which we declare our faith in God and qualify ourselves to receive the powers of heaven. Obedience is a choice. It is a choice between our own limited knowledge and power and God’s unlimited wisdom and omnipotence."- Elder L. Tom Perry

Phoenix Temple!

I love to see the temple! Not just one of my favorite Primary songs, but an absolute truth and I'm so excited to share the news of the open house for the Phoenix temple. I feel so incredibly blessed to live between two temples (Mesa and Gilbert AZ temples) and a third in the area is a wonderful blessing. For more information on what we believe about temples check out this site. 

Before a temple is dedicated for the specific work and worship that takes place there, we hold an open house for the public to come walk through and see the temple. The open house for the Phoenix temple will be held from October 10th through November 1st of this year! Starting the 29th of September you can make free reservations online to attend the open house. Here is the Phoenix Temple website for more information and reservations.

And some lovely pictures for ya'll to enjoy!

Redeeming Love

To redeem is to buy back, to free from distress or harm, to change for the better, to atone for, to make worthwhile and good, to save. At least according to good 'ole Merriam Webster. Now couple that with love. Not even all the dictionary definitions can fully encompass the breath and depth of this particular emotion. I'm a firm believer in the power of love, in it's power to mold us and help us grow, in it's ability to heal both those who give it and those who receive it. So taking that a step further towards a redeeming love and we find this incredible love that has the power to change us for the better, to save us (often from ourselves), and to enable us to fulfill our true purposes in this life and in eternity.

A well know quote from The Notebook is from the last letter Noah writes to Allie when he thanks her for the kind of love she gave to him saying, "The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds..." I feel grateful to have, in some measure, felt that kind of love, but I would add that the best kind of love also changes our perspective and matures the soul.



Receiving this kind of love is life-changing. It's like the sunshine after months of overcast skies and sub-zero temperatures. Like the first breath of air after being under water too long. A precious gift, one that changes everything no matter how long it is active in our lives. I guess the truth of the matter is that this love is always active--it never dies though the giver might. The Savior is the ultimate example of this kind of love (I'll talk more about that in a minute). Andy gave me just a glimpse of this miracle and after feeling this kind of love, nothing less will ever be enough.

Giving this caliber of love is transformative. Though there is no set way to achieve giving this level of love, the process of doing so is character refining and soul expanding. Learning to love is by far the most defining achievement or journey, more than a career or degree, more than developing skills or talents, more than any and all awards or tributes. In fact, when we learn how to give redeeming love we are becoming more like our Redeemer. I saw this on my mission as I was overwhelmed by an incredible love for those I had the opportunity to serve and serve with- just a tiny portion of our Heavenly Father and Savior's love for each of them.

I first saw the phrase "redeeming love" in Alma 5:9, 26: "Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved....And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" This is Alma preaching to the people about salvation and the redemption through the Savior. Elder Gong expands on this idea ( using atoning love in place of redeeming) in his article in July 2014 Ensign entitled, Becoming Perfect in Christ :

"We sing with our children, “I feel my Savior’s love, the love he freely gives me.

His atoning love, freely given, is as “milk and honey, without money and without price” (2 Nephi 26:25). Infinite and eternal (see Alma 34:10), the Atonement invites us to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him” (Moroni 10:32).

Understanding the Savior’s freely given atoning love can free us from self-imposed, incorrect, and unrealistic expectations of what perfection is. Such understanding allows us to let go of fears that we are imperfect—fears that we make mistakes, fears that we are not good enough, fears that we are a failure compared to others, fears that we are not doing enough to merit His love.

The Savior’s freely given atoning love helps us become more forgiving and less judgmental of others and of ourselves. This love heals our relationships and gives us opportunities to love, understand, and serve as our Savior would.

His atoning love changes our concept of perfection. We can put our trust in Him, diligently keep His commandments, and continue in the faith (Mosiah 4:6)—even as we also feel greater humility, gratitude, and dependence on His merits, mercy, and grace."

What an incredible opportunity we have to learn to love as He loves us! Can you imagine if in loving others we can help them and ourselves let go of fears, be more forgiving, and trust more? And this applies to all relationships, not just romantic ones. Family, friends, etc. If we can learn to love those around us with this purity and purpose, I have a feeling we will all draw closer to the Savior together.